LONDON.- Stephen Friedman Gallery is presenting Multiple V, an exploration of Andreas Erikssons print practice over the last two years.
The presentation brings together a range of media including screen-print, lithography, etching and drypoint. The Swedish artist is known for his subtly textured depictions of the natural world, describing them as existential landscapes.
Highlights include Vanland', a striking screen-print edition produced in collaboration with Kunstatelieret in Copenhagen. This meditative work expands Erikssons formal language whilst remaining characteristic of his distinctive style. Hovering between abstraction and figuration, it draws the viewer into a rich conceptual investigation of the artists rural surroundings in Medelplana, Sweden.
Meticulously placed areas of colour and shape create a patchwork of ambiguous forms which flow around, merge and collide with each other. Rendered in a subtle palette of earthy and botanical hues, the composition recalls topography as well as details such as trees, earth and rock formations. Spanning dualities such as lightness and heaviness, illusion and reality, Vanland presents a complex reflection of the artists nearby landscape.
This survey of Erikssons broad choice of media and techniques includes a selection of monochromatic prints, conveying the artists use of line and mark-making to portray nature.
Explaining the use of printmaking in his practice, Eriksson said: Since the question of 'how to do something' and 'materiality' are two key concepts in my work, printmaking, as a medium, has always been a fertile ground for my working method. The materials and processes specific to each printing technique lead the way for me in the creation of the images. At times when my everyday work in the painting studio is slowing down, it is usually working on prints that gets me back on my feet. The process is rejuvenating, in this way, because of the playfulness allowed by the techniques and also the collaborative back and forth with the printer.
Multiple V follows Erikssons solo exhibition at Art Basel Hong Kong in 2022.
Andreas Eriksson was born in 1975 in Björsäter, Sweden. He lives and works in Medelplana on the south bank of Lake Vänern, Sweden.
A significant monograph on the artists practice was released by Sveriges Allmänna Konstförening in December 2021, accompanied by an exhibition at Galleri Flach, Stockholm. A major solo presentation of Erikssons work opened at Skissernas Museum, Lund in June 2021. The artist had an exhibition of watercolours, drawings and tapestries at Nordic Watercolour Museum, Tjörn in September 2020. Eriksson was commissioned to create a public painting for the main entrance of New Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm in 2017. His work was exhibited at the 30th São Paulo Biennial, São Paulo (2012) and The Nordic Pavilion, 54th Venice Biennale in 2011.
Other notable solo exhibitions include: Andreas Eriksson, Artspace de 11 Linjen Griet Dupont Foundation, Oudenburg, Belgium (2021); Cutouts, Mistakes and Threads, Braunsfelder Family Collection, Cologne, Germany (2019); Work in Progress, Skissernas Museum, Lund, Sweden (2017); Roundabouts, Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden which toured to Trondheim Kunstmuseum, Trondheim, Norway; Centre PasquArt, Biel, Switzerland and Reykjavik Art Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland (20142015). Roundabout the hardship of believing and Walking the Dog, Lying on the Sofa, MUMOK, Vienna, Austria (2008).
Erikssons works are included in prominent collections internationally including Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; FRAC, Auvergne, France; MUMOK, Vienna, Austria; Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo, Norway; Gothenburg Museum of Art, Gothenberg, Sweden; Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden; Skövde Art Museum, Skövde, Sweden; National Public Art Council, Sweden; Sundsvall Museum, Sundsvall, Sweden; Uppsala Art Museum, Uppsala, Sweden and X Museum, Beijing, China.