• Johanna Karlsson in her studio

    photography Thomas Karlsson

    Johanna Karlsson : “My Art Comes From a Personal Need to Express Myself”

    Written by Natalia Muntean

    To kick off Stockholm Art Week, we have asked a number of interesting people from the city’s art scene questions to explore their relationship to art and the city.

    Stockholm-based artist, Johanna Karlsson, creates dioramas depicting landscapes in a variety of different materials, including copper wire, silver wire, paper, textiles, pigment and plaster. She chooses to focus on the sculpture rather than the colours in her works, letting the materials speak for themselves. Karlsson creates precise depictions of nature, integrating cultural elements to form a landscape where personal interpretation fuses with natural science. Her works can be found in collections such as he Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sundsvall Museum in Sweden, and the Olbricht Collection in Germany. 

    What is the story behind your exhibition during Stockholm Art Week? 
    I have wanted to create reliefs for a long time. When I've made images, I've often wanted to add some other materials like paper pulp or sand. I enjoy it when the materials create shadows and texture. For these reliefs, I also used soldered details of copper wire and let them extend further from the surface. It’s a middle ground between the sculptures and images I've created before.

    What inspired you to become an artist, and how has your artistic journey evolved? 
    I've always made things with my hands; drawn and built with various materials. I still use many of the same materials as when I was young, such as paper, glue, threads and steel wire.

    What is your creative process like, and how do you approach developing new ideas and concepts for your work?
    I think it's a process that I just have to follow, even if it's with resistance and effort. It feels very much like one thing leads to another, that what I'm doing now builds on what I did before. It doesn't always get better, but each step might still have a purpose and be important in some way.

    What role do you think art plays in society, and how do you see your work contributing to or challenging societal norms?
    I’m certain that art is an essential part of society, but it is nothing that affects my working process. I don't think my art has a specific agenda or purpose. It is rather something that comes from a personal need to express myself. This does not mean that I am not interested in how the audience perceives and interprets what I do.

    Are there any particular themes or subjects that consistently appear in your work, and if so, what draws you to them?
    It's almost always nature that inspires me. Both the grand and the small, with all the details. It's difficult to know why one gets drawn to certain motifs, but I think it's some kind of atmosphere or a memory.

    Can you share a favourite spot in Stockholm where you go to find inspiration or recharge creatively? 
    Sometimes, when it's very difficult to get started working in the studio, I go to a library and sit and flip through books. It can be art books, biographies, poetry, or anything that gives new impressions. I also visit galleries and museums.

    Can you share a story about a specific neighbourhood in Stockholm that holds personal significance to you as an artist?
    I wander around where I live, formerly in Södermalm and now in Hökarängen and around Gullmarsplan by our allotment garden. I often look at slightly dull, unkempt places but where I still see something I find beautiful. In recent years, Högdalstoppen has been a favourite.

    Is there a Swedish artist who you find inspirational?
    There are many Swedish artists that inspire me now, but perhaps the most important was my grandfather, Algot. He had a furniture workshop, but in his later years, he began to draw. In the evenings, he sat in the workshop's lunchroom and made meticulous pencil drawings. I enjoyed visiting him there and seeing how the drawing grew day by day.

    What is your favourite bar or restaurant in Stockholm?
    I don't go out very often, but I enjoy having coffee at BAK in Hökarängen.

    Scene XXXVII, 2022
    Plaster, paper, pigment, metal wire, oak and artglass
    50 x 62 x 30 cm
    (JK2211)

    photography Nora Bencivenni, Galleri Magnus Karlsson

    Note I, 2022
    Relief, paper, pigment and metal wire on panel
    27x22x1.5 cm
    photography Nora Bencivenni, Gallery Magnus Karlsson
  • images courtsy of Carl Kostyál

    Matt Belk: I Think Artists Are Professional Observers

    Written by Natalia Muntean

    To kick off Stockholm Art Week, we have asked a number of interesting people from the city’s art scene questions to explore their relationship to art and the city.
    Matt Belk is a contemporary wildlife painter combining the outdoor country lifestyle with modern contemporary aesthetics. Born in 1988 in Omaha, Nebraska, his artwork involves the constant use of tape, cutting of shapes with an X-Acto blade, and airbrushing with inventive new techniques to create a seemingly digital graphic representation of the laws of nature. He is currently participating in an art residency program based in Sweden.

    What is the story behind your exhibition during Stockholm Art Week?
    The title of this show is “From Nebraska to Sweden'' and it’s about showing where I’m from in Nebraska, to my stay in Sweden the past 4 months. This show depicts so many new things I’ve seen in Sweden, exploring all the different wildlife, flora and fauna – mainly on the archipelago island of Blidö, but I’ve also been so fortunate to be able to travel further south to friends’ homes in Sperlingsholm, Erstavik and Borrestad and discovered different terrains from each unique new place I went, and then unfold what I saw and experienced in my work for this exhibition.  

    What inspired you to become an artist, and how has your artistic journey evolved?
    My mom was an artist when I was young and I was so amazed watching her draw, I remember looking at her drawing and thinking that it was a magic trick. From the inspiration of my mom, I started drawing for many years, mostly figuratively and then I started to experiment with oils, until just a few years ago my dad bought me an airbrush. I thought I would try it out once and probably never use it again, but here I am 4 years later – and now all I use is airbrush and all I paint is nature, for now.

    What is your creative process like, and how do you approach developing new ideas and concepts for your work?
    My process is observation, I think artists are professional observers. What really excites me is travelling to new places and exploring new areas, all of the unique plants, birds, animals and landscapes. That’s what is inspiring to me about nature, it becomes an adventure in itself that is then linked to the art. My picture-building process is to go between an iPad, a sketchbook and a bunch of magazines or photos I’ve taken to Xacto blades and airbrush on layered gesso canvas

    What role do you think art plays in society, and how do you see your work contributing to or challenging societal norms?
    I can only speak for myself, who I am as an artist, and my duty as an artist – I believe my calling or my job as an artist is to create work that inspires others, to create work that everyone anywhere can get something from – that isn’t off-putting to anyone. Really, I want to see kids be able to take something from my art, and that it could push them towards exploring the arts too.

    Are there any themes or subjects that consistently appear in your work, and if so, what draws you to them?
    I grew up hunting, so there is always some aspect or element about hunting in my works. Hunting is a very ritualistic and grounding thing for me. Growing up, watching the dogs hunt was even more enjoyable than hunting itself. It’s what I know and what I want to show and explore without being off-putting towards anyone, so I want to be clever about how it’s presented, Trojan horse, the concept to my art in a way.

    Can you share a favourite spot in Stockholm where you go to find inspiration or recharge creatively?
    One of my favourite things to do since being here is hopping on a bus on Blidö, especially when I need to do some “idea-shopping”. I found that it was the perfect way to map out my next paintings, and a great place for me to think. I took the buses all over Bildo, most often ending up in Norrtälje where I’d spend some time at the ICA Flygfyren Bistro.

    Can you share a story about a specific neighbourhood in Stockholm that holds personal significance to you as an artist?
    I love Old Town - Gamla Stan, it’s just magical there, and amazing for bird watching. I also love seeing the old architecture.

    Is there a Swedish artist who you find inspirational?
    I really like Joakim Ojanen and Leo Park, I just like how they’ve created their own little worlds – I have a lot of respect for them because they seem like they’re always working and I look up to that, the people who are always working, and you’re kind of chasing in some ways.

    What is your favourite bar or restaurant in Stockholm?
    Beirut Café in Östermalms Food Hall.

    RUBE GOLDBERG MACHINE, 2024

    acrylic airbrush,

    tape and xaco blades on canvas

    39,5h x 47,3w in (100h x 120 w cm)

    NEBRASKA, 2024

    acrylic airbrush,

    tape and xaco blades on canvas

    39,5h x 47,3w in (100h x 120 w cm)

  • image courtsy of artist

    photography Colin Svensson

    Anton Isaksson: Art Should Mirror Society

    Written by Natalia Muntean

    To kick off Stockholm Art Week, we have asked a number of interesting people from the city’s art scene questions to explore their relationship to art and the city.

    Anton Isaksson, a creative, curator and co-founder of Betan Gallery, has presented over 30 artists globally. His artistic creations encompass various mediums, including oil, acrylics, video, performances, public installations, and textiles.

    What is the story behind your exhibition during Stockholm Art Week?
    “Let’s see where our interests converge” is a collection of immaterial transactions. Textile works about perceived value, zero-sum games and transactional relationships. The exhibition is essentially about power. What isn’t?

    What inspired you to become an artist, and how has your artistic journey evolved?
    I guess that’s one of those things that just happens when there’s a need to create or express. I don’t know what else I would do. Maybe teach geography? Or history?

    What is your creative process like, and how do you approach developing new ideas and concepts for your work?
    I bring my notebook everywhere. When I fill it up, I get an exact copy. Usually, it takes about a month. The ideal notebook should be black, soft in an A5 format and it has to have rows since blank pages intimidate me.

    What role do you think art plays in society, and how do you see your work contributing to or challenging societal norms?
    If nothing else, the arts’ purpose should be to mirror society and contribute to it by boiling down complex ideas and making them accessible. That’s how I approach my work. It’s not necessarily about the art but more so about me translating an idea for it to get translated again by the observer. A beautiful process where the message is warped differently each time.

    Are there any particular themes or subjects that consistently appear in your work, and if so, what draws you to them?
    Black people. When I’m surrounded by my work I get this sense of belonging. All of a sudden, I’m in the majority. You don’t get that too often.

    Can you share a favourite spot in Stockholm where you go to find inspiration or recharge creatively?
    Badmintonstadion Skanstull. I don’t even play that much, it’s just a great atmosphere. The smell, the people, the sounds, the couches and the cheapest coffee in Stockholm (refills are free).

    Is there a Swedish artist who you find inspirational?
    Marcia Harvey Isaksson, Thea Olivares, Aron Bergdahl and Betan as a collective.

    What is your favourite bar or restaurant in Stockholm?
    Duvan Pub, without a doubt. They’ve fed me when I couldn’t. Superb service.

    image courtsy of artist

    Someone Else’s Milk

    60x68cm
    textile on canvas

    image courtsy of artist

    Takes a Village
    60x68 cm
    textile on canvas

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