Jonatan Pihlgren. Beckers Art Award 2023

April 22nd - June 11st, 2023

Färgfabriken

By WAC I 4 MAY 2023

The Beckers Art Award was established in 1987 with the aim of identifying young talents who are about to experience a turning point in their careers. In addition to the prize money, the winner presents a solo exhibition —since 2001— at Färgfabriken.

This year, Jenny Lindén Urnes, Mårten Castenfors and Magnus Jensner were the members of the jury for the 36th edition, who awarded the prize to the artist Jonatan Pihlgren. The artist's work will also be on view at the contemporary art fair Market from 11 to 14 May.

The jury considers that the artist approaches his canvases and panels with a balanced mix of primordial painterly power and delicate sensitivity. The painterly narrative is expressive and dizzying in its intense and intuitive temperament. The focus is on people, animals and daily life, but in the safe and familiar milieu, somewhat surreal and totally uninhibited whims and caprices can manifest themselves. A world where everything takes a new turn, wild and dangerous, but at the same time intimate and contemplative.

Pihlgren is at ease with himself, with an air of irresponsibility. He never flatters, but plays around with paint just as easily as when carving a wooden sculpture and conjuring a strangely messy object, all in the spirit of refreshingly unbridled rawness.

JONATAN PIHLGREN

Born in 1993. He lives and works in Gothenburg. In 2021, he took a master’s degree at Umeå Academy of Fine Arts. Pihlgren’s main medium is painting, but he also works with sculpture and performance. In 2022, he participated as one of three artists in the exhibition Järtecken at Gallery Verkligheten in Umeå, his wooden sculptures were included in the performance show Real Yellow at Atalante and he showed the exhibition Vargtimme at Gallery 54 in Gothenburg.

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