21.8 - 6.9 2025
Opening Thursday, August 21, 5-7 PM
Galleri Helle Knudsen is pleased to present a scholarship exhibition with Ebba Olsson, Ludvig Hyrefelt and Malin Östberg. Each year, Galleri Helle Knudsen awards several grants to promising artists in collaboration with the art society Konstsällskapet Våga Se. As a natural extension of this work, the gallery has over the years hosted numerous scholarship exhibitions, giving emerging artists the opportunity to present their work to a broad audience in a professional exhibition setting. These exhibitions have become a valued part of the gallery’s program and serve as a way to introduce new artistic voices to the art scene. Ebba Olsson, Ludvig Hyrefelt and Malin Östberg were three of the recipients in 2024.
Ebba Olsson, Portrait of Iris, oil on canvas, 65 x 55 cm
Ebba Olsson (b. 1999) is a Swedish artist. She has studied painting and drawing at Charles H. Cecil Studios in Florence, where she completed a three-year education focused on traditional techniques. During her time in Florence, Ebba delved into classical portrait painting, with methods dating back to the 1500s.
Ebba paints only with reality as a reference, as she believes that the human presence is crucial to capturing a person's likeness and character. Her artistry is marked by a strong interest in art history, and she is particularly inspired by masters such as Velázquez, Van Dyck, and John Singer Sargent.
Ebba calls for a more versatile art scene in Sweden, where traditional realistic painting can coexist alongside contemporary art. She values craftsmanship and originality, which are two values she considers particularly important in a time dominated by digital production. In a world characterized by rapid consumption, she sees the human touch as more relevant than ever, not only in art but in society at large.
Malin Östberg, And then we laughed until we almost died RED, oil on MDF, 40 x 24 cm
Malin Östberg (b.1979) lives and works in Borlänge. In her artistic practice, she works with spatiality. Mostly with painting and sculpture in various materials where works interact with each other in small stagings. The body has always played a central role in her works. The physical and its presence is something she increasingly incorporates as a tool in her art. She is influenced by and draws narratives from our contemporary times, from politics, current events, but also from her own memory bank. In this way, she approaches everyday life and reality, which takes a turn from realism to surrealism and sometimes absurdity, where questions about the body and integrity, solidarity, and possibilities for freedom of choice are turned inside out. The public space as a place interests her, and the encounter between viewer and work as well as the conversations they generate are an important extension of her work.