Annamaria Johansson — Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

May 5

May 5 Annamaria Johansson

Biography

Annamaria Johansson is an artist based in Stockholm. She was born in 1986 in a city called Östersund which lies in the northern part of Sweden. At an early age, she had great urge to paint and draw. She is now a full-time artist since a couple of years. She have also accomplished two bachelor degrees and been working in the business sector. Her travels have allowed her to collect a lot of experience from all parts of the world, including inspiration from Zanzibar, Cape Verde, Vietnam, Dominican Republican, New York and Europe.

Artist Statement

Annamaria’s work is strongly influenced by the candid description of being a human in today’s society. She believes that we all have a higher purpose and are divine beings searching for inner peace, finding joy and to for fill our lives by using earthly things, consuming and building our own personality from the outside in, instead of the opposite. Children have always had a special place in the work of Annamaria. She believes that children, embody the purity and unfiltered expression of the reality they are facing. Today’s uncertainty is revealed in the portraits that Annamaria has painted.

What first prompted you to think of becoming an artist?

I have always loved to draw and paint but I was told as a child, that it is more of a hobby. This made me put it on the shelf, so to speak, even if I did continue to draw in secret but very little. I have always known on the inside that there is something more for me, something else I will do with my life than just work in the corporate world but to be honest I have never listened or trusted my inner voice. It was in the late 2019 I had a moment of awakening. I had been drawn from my heart to my pencils more and more and I thought to myself what if I go and by some painting materials? And so I did and then the journey had started. I had never felt so alive and fulfilled as I did as when I was painting. From there it has just grown.

What kind of an artist do you ultimately see yourself?

I see myself as a multi-artist on a journey to create and explore a new world. The future is unwritten and we are here to create it. My art works up till now is mostly portraits of humans made with oil and that is because I have a longing to capture people. I have painted a lot of children and there is a special purity and unfiltered expression in the children’s portrait which means and talk a lot to me. As the art lover knows there is always more to the story and my paintings have a background story written like a text or a poem that follows. I have written it by myself and as it is with the art work, it is a reflection of my emotions and how I perceive the expression of the person on the painting. Meetings with different people and travels to different cultures all was collected in the paintings and to give all I have to share with the viewer it is now becoming a part of the paintings.

What are you hoping to communicate to the viewer through your work?

My work is as described, mostly humans captured in a moment and I have chosen to call one of my Collections Free Human. That is because today we are experts of hiding, manipulating and moulding the truth of ourselves to be what it is not. Myself included since I was trying for a long time to be someone I was not. Sometimes it is even without knowing because we are so used to it and “forced” to live up to the expectations we believe others have on us. And live in a society where we were taught since childhood to do so. I believe there is time for a change when we not holding ourselves back in order to try to fit in to something that was created from a wrong manuscript. We need to dig deeper to find the real truth and to find ourselves again. Since I have been painting most of my paintings in this period of a pandemic it is influenced by that and situations and reflections which runs with it. Surrendering to the moment and to let the now be what it is has been a part of my painting practice.

Can you explain the process of creating your work?

It starts from within and is a reflection of my experiences with people and emotions around it. Sometimes I got inspiration from a photo or I have met a person and want to express the moment. To me life is moments, precious ones that comes and goes. I am also inspired by my travels around the world and by the different cultures I had the opportunity to experience. To paint a portrait can take from weeks up till months it’s a process and it needs to be free.

What is your favourite part of the creative process?

I love the beginning and when I am in the flow when it doesn’t even feels like I am painting. The colours are released to the canvas.

Can you give us an insight into current projects and inspiration, or what we can look forward to from you in the near future?

Now I am looking forward to the art fair in New York, New York art expo. Hopefully, it will take place in November this year (have been postponed since spring 2020). For me, it is an opportunity and I’m always looking to broader my perspective, network and get beyond inspired and also be able to share my own art with a lot of people.

I am looking into some new collaborations and it will take place in a more digital world as we are heading more towards virtual art.

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