At the very centre of Affordable Art Fair Stockholm, you’ll find the Recent Graduates exhibition, a space where a select group of young graduates are given the chance to exhibit their art to the 1000s of art-loving visitors to the fair! Our curators, Lauren Johnson and Sofia Jonsson, have travelled the length of Sweden visiting art schools and student exhibitions, in search of that a talented troop that will help bring the wow-factor to the Stockholm fair.

Together, Lauren and Sofia have carefully selected seven Recent Graduates which they have identified as brimming with talent and potential. None of these recent students have gallery representation as yet, but we expect them to be big names in the future! Read on to find out more about each of the selected artists:

MEET THE STOCKHOLM RECENT GRADUATE ARTISTS

Tina Umer, b. 1991, Slovenia

Having completed her BA in Visual Communication from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tina then went on to complete a Master’s in Photography at Academy Valand in Gothenburg, where she is now based. In Tina’s works, she explores themes such as memories, personal symbolism, layering matter and meaning. She works from a base of photography, but blends each piece with painting, drawing, and textiles. In her most recent works, Tina has been studying the imagery within online marketing, a world of objects that thrive somewhere between their idea and their physical reality.

Stina Rolf, b. 1990, Sweden

Stina graduated from Konstfack in 2019 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art and Textiles and, as such, her work blends traditional and non-traditional methods, using screen printing and painting to apply motifs to fabrics such as linen, silk and viscose. Stina is inspired by the human need for images; the photograph as social ritual, a power tool and a defence against anxiety. Amongst the pieces Stina will show is ‘Smirnoff Ice’, a metaphor for the similarity between feelings and alcoholic soda; sweet, sticky and intoxicating. The image depicts a waterfall, a tireless amount of liquid passing through it at high speed. Stina lives and works in Stockholm.

Ivar Lövheim, b. 1983, Sweden

Ivar is a painter whose work explores the borders of the medium, perceptions of painting, and the point where a piece is transformed from the state of fictional to physical. After studying painting at Gothenburg School of Art, Ivar went on to receive an MFA from the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm, then returned to live and work in Gothenburg. At Affordable Art Fair Stockholm, Ivar will show works from his series Calco di Figura, named after an old postcard from Pompeii which shows a cast of human remains following the historical disaster.

Adrián Espinós, b. 1985, Spain

Adrián lives and works in Malmö, Sweden. He holds a BA in Fine Arts from the University of Barcelona, Spain and recently graduated from the Master’s Programme in Fine Arts from Umeå Universitet, Sweden. Adrián’s work is inspired by the transforming processes of nature and the patterns it creates. This interest is translated into his practice through his use of organic shapes, similar to cell structures found in geology and biology.

Maria Safronova Wahlström, b. 1989, Russia

Recently graduated with a Master of Fine Arts from The Valand Academy of Arts, Gothenburg, Maria has also completed a Multimedia Graduate Program at California State University, as well as a five-year programme with a dual qualification in Teaching and Fine Arts and a BA in Fine Arts, from Moscow State Pedagogical University. Phew! With a background in classical painting, she has moved into the field of sculpture and installation where she explores conceptual themes like collective identity, social boundaries and individual formation, translated into visual forms through materials and space.

Vasilis Sjögren Tzanetopoulos, b. 1989, Greece

Vasilis has recently graduated from The Royal Academy of Arts in Stockholm. He grew up in Athens, Greece, and is now based in Stockholm. Vasilis has developed his own style in painting, using watercolours as his chosen medium. His larger works, which were displayed at his graduation exhibition, were composed of dreamlike memorial landscapes, rich in details from everyday life, as well as from folklore – magical forests, fairy tales and fantasy worlds.

Josefin Mo Bergström, b. 1990, Stockholm

Recently graduated from Konstfack in Stockholm, Josefin creates circular sculptures in clay, the circle at play both physically and symbolically within her work. To Josefin, a physical circle and the depth and playfulness of artmaking have a symbiosis, and as such they belong together. Her exploration of the ceramic process is a material manifestation of the non-material experiences she wants to share. Beginning with the first intention, through the making in clay and ash glaze, and the final transformation into solid form, through the firing process.

Gustaf Helsing, b. 1993, Sweden

Recently graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Textiles from Konstfack in Stockholm, Gustaf’s graduating exhibition featured six “anxious rugs”. Each rug conveyed a story on the theme of how to be a young man in today’s society – the series as a whole titled “All men should feel self-hatred”. Bringing the underlying tone of anxiety to life, the rugs were woven fast, and have a level of co-creation, influenced by everything and everybody.

It is a privilege to support young artists at the beginning of their careers, and we are super excited to see all of their works in person. Join us 10 – 13 October, Nacka Strandsmässan, for Affordable Art Fair Stockholm, and to see these and 1000s more fantastic works all under one roof.

Main Image:
Maria Safronova Wahlström, The Last Stone Engraved, Bohuslän granite, 25 x 50 x 25 cm, 50,000 SEK.

Featured art from first to last:
Tina Umer, Gone Shopping, Inkjet print, 50 x 60 cm, 6,750 SEK.
Stina Rolf, Smirnoff Ice, screenprint on handwoven tapestry made from viscose, silk, and linen, 180 x 120 cm, 30,000 SEK.
Ivar Lövheim, Wall (Calco di Figura Umana), acryl på duk, 30 x 30 cm, 4,800 SEK.
Adrian Espinos, Kerguelen Process 1.2.
Maria Safronova Wahlström, The Last Stone Engraved, Bohuslän granite, 25 x 50 x 25 cm, 50,000 SEK.
Vasilis Sjögren Tzanetopoulos, Sovkupén, oil on canvas, 2019, photo by Jean Baptiste Beranger.
Josefin Mo Bergström, Dunmasksboet, Stengods & Askglasyr Stoneware & Ash Glaze, 20,000 SEK.
Gustaf Helsing, Overdosing on Nostalgia, Material, 135 x 300 cm, 30,000 SEK.