Johan Engqvist: Question your tea spoons

Johan Engqvist
Question your tea spoons
7.10 - 3.11. 2023

Galleri Helle Knudsen is pleased to present Johan Engqvist's solo exhibition "Question your Tea Spoons." Opening reception on Saturday, October 7th, from 12-4 pm. The artist presents the exhibition at 1 pm.

Johan Engqvist (b. 1990) resides and works in Gothenburg. His paintings follow a non-hierarchical structure, where all subjects are valued equally. The compositions are often pattern-based and sometimes entirely lack clear focal points and central perspectives. The result is a collection of works that avoid precise categorization and exist between figuration and abstraction.

Engqvist regularly employs a decorative aesthetic and a sentimentally charged visual language, often rooted in the domestic sphere. These elements coexist with various art historical references. For Engqvist, this blending of visual information serves as a means to challenge art historical hierarchies and notions of good taste and expand his understanding of what painting can be, do, and contain.

Engqvist earned his master's degree in fine arts at Valand Academy in Gothenburg. He previously studied at Umeå Academy of Fine Arts. In 2021, Engqvist received a grant from the gallery's art association, Konstsällskapet Våga Ses. In 2022, he was awarded a one-year working grant from the Swedish Arts Grants Committee.

Untitled, acrylic on canvas, 120 x 115 cm