Christian Pontus Andersson (born 1977) is a Swedish artist and

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, living in

Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is a district and island in central Stockholm. Overview The district covers the large island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''). Although Södermalm usually is considered an island, wat ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. Christian Pontus Andersson was born in the small town Brattfors, county of Värmland, in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. First working as a television journalist, Andersson hesitated between studying plastic surgery or becoming an artist.http://magdalena.vima.se/konstskribent/13-konstkritik/501-christian-pontus-andersson.html He started studying ceramics at Konstfack, University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, in Stockholmhttp://www.vi-tidningen.se/templates/ArticlePage.aspx?id=10495 in 2002. During his studies, he opened a ceramic workshop in the Chinese “porcelain capital” Jingdezhen where he produced his master's degree project, the large scale baroque series ''Cry Me the Sorrows'' (2007). Combining both high artistic and craftsmanship level, his work gained a lot of attention at the annual Spring exhibition, and led to his first acclaimed solo exhibition at Christian Larsen Gallery (Aerea). Andersson has also exhibited at the National Gallery of Art in Stockholm, and participated in group exhibitions in Tokyo, Munich, Frankfurt, and Milan. The National Museum owns his 2007 sculpture ''Guard for Tears''; he is also represented in the collection of the

Röhsska Museum The Röhsska Museum ( sv, Röhsska museet, earlier named ''Röhsska konstslöjdsmuseet'', also known as Design Museum), is located in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is a museum focused on design, fashion and applied arts. The museum collection consists ...

with two works. The work of Christian Pontus Andersson balances between kitsch and stringent form, creating a contrast between the extravagant homoerotic appearances of the figures and the fragile material of which they are made. As sources of inspiration, Andersson mentions Czech artist Alphonse Mucha, and his work also resembles that of

Matthew Barney Matthew Barney (born March 25, 1967) is an American contemporary artist and film director who works in the fields of sculpture, film, photography and drawing. His works explore connections among geography, biology, geology and mythology as well ...

and Jeff Koons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andersson, Christian Pontus 1977 births Living people Konstfack alumni Swedish male sculptors 21st-century Swedish sculptors People from Värmland County 21st-century Swedish male artists