I’ve been a fan of Swedish artist Anna Bjerger for a long time, and saved some images of her work to my computer years and years ago. I recently started going through my old inspiration folders and rediscovered them (when last did you save photos to your computer?!).
Anna Bjerger is one of the most prominent contemporary Scandinavian painters. The subject matter of her paintings seem to vary, the shadow of a tree on the ground, a skier careering down a mountain, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, an eye. In truth it is unwavering, as she says, the subject matter of her work is painting. Her imagery comes from old photographs, found in the books, outdated hobbyist magazines and travel brochures which cover her studio floor. She talks of rescuing images from history. These images were intended to be useful, to inform someone or to sell something. They had a useful shelf life, then quickly became redundant. Anna Bjerger keeps these images around her, sometimes for years, until they haunt her and need to be painted. The act of painting transmogrifies the image. Set loose from their moorings the images are free to take on new meanings, to open up, to allude rather than state.
she’s just the kind of artist whose work I could see on my wall and would be happy to live with (the best type of art in my opinion…) she’s represented by Galleri Bo Bjerggaard in Copenhagen.
