Johan Andersson (born 1986 in

Trollhättan Trollhättan () is the 23rd-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Trollhättan Municipality, Västra Götaland County. It is situated by Göta älv, near the lake Vänern, and has a population of approximately 50,000 in the city proper. It is locate ...

) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

painter.

Awards

Johan Andersson is co founder of Art Unified and lives and works in Los Angeles. He has exhibited in major museums such as Royal West of England, Saatchi gallery, V&A museum and National portrait gallery. In 2007 Andersson became the youngest ever artist to be shortlisted for the

BP Portrait Award The BP Portrait Award is an annual portraiture competition held at the National Portrait Gallery in London, England. It is the successor to the John Player Portrait Award. It is the most important portrait prize in the world, and is reputedly ...

, winning third prize for his painting ''Tamara''., which was viewed by over 195,000 people. The representational simplicity of his early work has been compared to recent works by

Alex Katz Alex Katz (born July 24, 1927) is an American figurative artist known for his paintings, sculptures, and prints. Early life and career Alex Katz was born July 24, 1927, to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, as the son of an émigré who ha ...

. Andersson is also a winner of the

Jerwood Foundation The Jerwood Foundation is an independent grant-making foundation in the United Kingdom. In 1999 the Jerwood Foundation established the Jerwood Charitable Foundation, a registered charity under English law. History The Jerwood Foundation was establi ...

Contemporary Painters Prize; his winning piece ''Kate'' has since sold on the secondary market for "in excess of £40,000" in a deal involving Eugene Tenenbaum. Following his early critical acclaim, Andersson has exhibited in six countries, at two major art fairs and in three museums including the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

Painting of Amy Winehouse

In late July 2011 Andersson received a posthumous public commission to paint

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

, which incorporated subtle use of spray paints. In July 2011 with

Art Below Ben Moore (born 25 May 1978)Nick Curtis''London Evening Standard'', 25 May 2010. is a British art curator, entrepreneur and artist. He is the founder and curator of Art Below, a contemporary art organisation that places art in public spaces and ...

he unveiled an image of the singer on the

Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different routes through central London, two ...

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...

just two weeks after Winehouse's death. The image was re-exhibited in July 2012 in Art Below's build-up show to the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. One year after Winehouse's death, Art Below reinstalled the image at Camden Town tube station, on Northern line Platform 1.

Collaborations

He has collaborated with the founder of Givey, David Erasmus, on a

TED (conference) TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

called ''The Power of Connection.'' His first formal series ''STOLEN FACES'' was revealed, exhibited and auctioned at Englefield House,

Englefield, Berkshire Englefield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. The village is mostly within the bounds of the private walled estate of Englefield House. The village is in the district of West Berkshire, close to Reading. Battle of E ...

in May 2012. He has since worked on two other series - paintings from Brand for Life were exhibited in both the

Saatchi Gallery The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art and an independent charity opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985. Exhibitions which drew upon the collection of Charles Saatchi, starting with US artists and minimalism, moving to the D ...

and the

Royal West of England Academy The Royal West of England Academy (RWA) is Bristol's oldest art gallery, located in Clifton, Bristol, near the junction of Queens Road and Whiteladies Road. Situated in a Grade 2* listed building, it hosts five galleries and an exhibition program ...

; whilst Generation of War has led to Andersson collaborating for a short film, which was specially recognised by The Celeste Prize.

References

External links

www.artunified.com Official website
1986 births Living people 20th-century Swedish painters 20th-century Swedish male artists Swedish male painters 21st-century Swedish painters 21st-century Swedish male artists People from Trollhättan Municipality Alumni of Central Saint Martins {{Sweden-painter-stub