Anna Andersson
Anna’s classical sculptures are imbued with a strong feeling of ongoing presence. A balance that forms a sort of monumental meditative memorial grove. As if gravity is suspended, where the deviations and precision seem to bring the sculptures to life. Part of the beauty of her works lies in how Anna seeks to both find and fill in the gaps in the space, be they real or imaginary. Her sculptures stand like mute sentinels, at a precisely calculated angle one sculpture leans precariously in conversation with the other. The tension that electrifies this sculptural ensemble almost generates its own gravity field, and the materials seem chosen for their capacity to harbour light and emphasise form. And our thoughts go to Harry Martinson’s nature essay “Granar i blåst”, where he describes fir trees in wind: “The bowing motion creeps, spreads within the tree and disperses, the year rings lying like long pipes inside and outside each other in the cylinder, flexing like spiral coils, and the stretching upwards and downwards is a veritable wonder of elastically and mechanically distributed movement.” That feeling of elasticity, combined with the sense of heaviness, is perhaps what makes this piece so compelling.
Maja Fredin
Narrative is at the centre of Maja’s multifaceted practice. Through multidisciplinary works in the form of scenographies and installations, she explores subjects such as over-consumption, addiction and dysmorphophobia. Maja is not just a visual artist but also a wry observer, who, in her own exceedingly singular way, pinpoints the madness of our time, but also the banal dreams of luxury and glamour we all share. Humorously, tenderly, and with occasionally painful acuity, she creates a unique reality, interweaving observations of the transient contemporary world. She explores the possibility of projecting the past into the future and reshaping what once was. Perhaps, she uses her inner Elvis as a way of stepping in and out of different states. Maja demonstrates impressive craftsmanship and richness of detail in her work, creating, among other things, a bizarre and warped vision of a set table. A dream landscape, where a social drama seems about to burst forth at any moment. Here, art offers a weightless vacuum where we miraculously can sigh with relief.
Image: Anna Andersson and Maja Fredin. Photo: Christofer Dracke.
