Lena Johansson

Overview

Lena Johansson has been widely acclaimed for her intense oil paintings on panels with motifs derived from lifestyle media. Her lush, sensuous brush strokes create a glossy, desirable image that comments upon the commercial and fashion imagery much of her work is based on. Johansson's interest in fashion photography and commercial imagery stems from her view that they are essential in how they refer to our dreams and desires; for her, these images are deeply human and speak to our need for beauty, seduction and sexuality.

Johansson likewise uses the very same materials inherent in the world where she draws inspiration from. Instead of using the traditional canvas and stretchers, her paintings are also made directly on simple white T-shirts, jeans and scarves. In contrast to her works on panels, these works are quite unpolished and rough, showing traces of the painting process with drips, stains, holes and dirty fingerprints.

In her latest work, new references have been added: the criminal world's weakness and fixation on luxury brands as a status marker. She uses evidence photos from court proceedings showing confiscated waist bags and purses from well-known luxury brands as models and paints them on different found materials, thereby complicating the image of the major luxury conglomerate brands and also the allure in the very same motifs that she is drawn to.

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.

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