Thomas Colbentson

Title: Before Aahkorna - Self Portrait
Technique: Enamel on tile
Dimensions: 30x26.5 cm

Tomas Colbengtson (b. 1957) grew up in a small Sami village, Björkvattnet, Tärnaby, the northernmost area for the South Sami language. Colbengtson grew up fighting for his language, right to religion, and self-determination. He uses his Sami background and nature experiences from the northern Swedish mountains as a starting point for his artistic work. He initiates the indigenous residence Sápmi Salasta for indigenous artists in his activist work. He works with graphics, painting, sculpture, and digital art. Since 1998, he has held Artist Residency at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. He currently teaches at Konstfack, Stockholm, where he completed his education in 1991.

Tomas has had several international exhibitions in the USA, Russia, Japan, Germany, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Spain, Slovenia, the Netherlands, France, Brazil, Greenland, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, and Greece.