Overview

Lena Johansson is widely recognised for her arresting oil paintings on panel, where motifs drawn from lifestyle media are reinterpreted through her broad, sensuous brushwork. These seductive surfaces engage in a dialogue with the commercial and fashion imagery that informs much of her oeuvre. For Johansson, fashion photography and advertising are not merely vehicles of persuasion, but essential cultural artifacts—reflections of collective dreams, desires and the enduring human pursuit of beauty, seduction and sensuality.

 

Her practice is rooted not only in the iconography of these worlds, but also in their material reality. Forsaking traditional canvas, Johansson works across both panel and the very garments that inhabit the realm she evokes—white T-shirts, denim, scarves. In contrast to her panel paintings, these textile pieces are intentionally raw and unrefined, bearing visible traces of process: drips, stains, punctures and imprints of the artist’s touch.

 

In recent work, Johansson extends her inquiry into new territory, examining the criminal underworld’s fascination with luxury brands as markers of status and power. Drawing from evidentiary photographs presented in court—images of confiscated waist bags, handbags and other accessories from the world’s most coveted luxury houses—she translates these artifacts onto found materials. In doing so, she both complicates the glossy image projected by global luxury conglomerates and underscores the paradoxical allure of the very symbols she interrogates.

 

Lena Johansson (b. 1975) lives and works in Sweden. She has previously exhibited at institutions such as ARKEN Museum of Contemporary Art, Ishøj, Denmark; Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium, Vestfossen, Norway; Moderna Museet, Malmö, Sweden; Lunds Konsthall, Sweden; Värmlands museum, Karlstad, Sweden; and Ystads Konstmuseum, Sweden.

Exhibitions
Installation shots
Works
  • Maria Magdalena (I'll Never Be)
    Maria Magdalena (I'll Never Be)
  • As Long as Stars Are Above You
    As Long as Stars Are Above You
  • Boy (Born to Kill)
    Boy (Born to Kill)
  • Hang On
    Hang On
  • Lia
    Lia
  • Lovisa
    Lovisa
  • Marc
    Marc
  • The Blue Curtain
    The Blue Curtain
  • Florent
    Florent
  • Emma
    Emma
  • The Red Rooms
    The Red Rooms
  • The Star
    The Star
  • Short Story (The Bubble)
    Short Story (The Bubble)
  • BB
    BB
  • To die for I
    To die for I
  • Boy with blue jacket
    Boy with blue jacket
  • Dreamland welcomes you III
    Dreamland welcomes you III
  • Ida
    Ida
  • Marianne
    Marianne
  • Trace
    Trace
  • Niki
    Niki
  • The boy and the sea II
    The boy and the sea II
  • Composition in found frame
    Composition in found frame
  • You and I
    You and I
  • The Girl
    The Girl
  • The Room 2
    The Room 2
  • The Mystery of Transference
    The Mystery of Transference
  • Girl painting
    Girl painting
  • Leken
    Leken
  • Söndagsmorgon
    Söndagsmorgon
  • Interiör 1
    Interiör 1
  • Interiör 3
    Interiör 3
  • Interiör 2
    Interiör 2
  • Utan titel
    Utan titel
  • Flicka med mask
    Flicka med mask
  • Man framför grönt draperi
    Man framför grönt draperi
  • Andy
    Andy
  • Flickor (allra käraste Tova)
    Flickor (allra käraste Tova)
  • Lilly
    Lilly
  • Duschen
    Duschen
  • Sid
    Sid
  • Punk Princesses
    Punk Princesses
Press
Events
Art Fairs