Artist: Richard Johansson

Galleri Magnus Karlsson presents Richard Johansson’s tenth solo exhibition at the gallery. The exhibition In the Shadows of Myself presents a series of eighteen sculptures in linseed oil-burnt cast iron.

Throughout his artistic career, Richard Johansson has been passionate about unpretentious and straightforward visual storytelling. He has lovingly drawn inspiration from the direct appeal and unadorned language of folk art. Echoes of this tradition can often be seen in his own art, which encompasses a variety of techniques and materials. Over the years, he has moved freely between sculpture, painting and drawing, always with a deep-rooted sense of craftsmanship and materiality.

The exhibition’s new iron sculptures can be seen as a summary of Johansson’s personal artistic universe. Here, he has moved towards a more primitive and simplified expression. The works still have a playful and narrative touch, but the colour has been reduced to black and the material to cast iron. He himself has described the sculptures as drawings in three-dimensional form.

The title of the exhibition suggests an autobiographical and retrospective content. The motifs in the individual works all have an important place in the artist’s life. Objects, phenomenons, experiences and stories that, for various reasons, have remained etched in his memory. Some of the sculptures originate from the artist’s own childhood drawings and experiences. Others come from later encounters in life, art and music experiences, historical figures and pure fantasy.

I have not rejected one thought as less valuable or interesting than another. An idea that has come up has quickly been translated into action. I have found the materials for the original sculptures in my house, the studio or the garden: an old wooden chair, tree branches, scraps and other things. I have found it exciting to explore where I am.

These seemingly incompatible moments have been filtered down into a homogeneous group of sculptures and given weight and seriousness through their execution and materials. Here, the very core of the story is carved out in a lasting expression cast in iron, like artefacts or relics from a lost era.

Richard Johansson was born 1966 in Vrigstad, Småland, Sweden. He lives and works in Södra Mellby, Kivik, Sweden. Education at Forum Art School in Malmö 1989–1994. He has exhibited regularly at galleries and institutions in Sweden since the 90s. This year it is 30 years since his first solo show at Galleri Magnus Karlsson! Johansson is represented in private- and public collections and museums in Sweden such as Gothenburg Art Museum, Eskilstuna Konstmuseum, Västerås Konstmuseum, Public Art Agency, Folkets Hus och Parker, Kristianstad municipality, Halmstad municipality, Växjö municipality and Ystads municipality. Richard Johansson has also executed a large number of public commissions (some together with Mette Björnberg). He runs his own mobile museum, Folk Art Museum, since 2016. It has been been presented at Kristianstads konstmuseum, Vandalorum and Wanås Art in Sweden.