Three years ago, the 26-year-old Swedish artist sold her very first painting. Now, she runs her own gallery and works full-time with her brand.
— Since I have a slightly different background than most other artists and no education within the field, I would like to believe that I’m not bound to any particular framework. My technique has grown along the way and it develops every single day. When I was ten, my mother passed away, and painting became like medicine to me. I created dream worlds that I could escape to and have continued on the same track ever since. My everyday life is an important source of inspiration to my art and as such, the paintings nowadays tend to be inspired by places around Stockholm, von Essen tells. She continues:
— My art can easily be recognized from the mixture of abstractness and concreteness, from the reality that commingles with fantasy. A very important element for me is texture. I apply several layers of acrylics paint, let it dry, and play a lot with the material. Thick lumps are usually sticking out from the canvases which creatures a 3D effect. On the more flat parts, I usually paint concrete details from nature such as wild animals, dogs, or figures.
This fall, she’s joined forces with LG, developing digital versions of nine of her paintings.
— This collaboration is yet another step towards making art accessible to more people, which I love, and the entire process has been so instructive. I am a perfectionist when it comes to my art and was very nervous before, but I am beyond pleased with the result. We’ve used LG’s OLED Gallery Design TV, where each pixel is its own light source, making the rendering of the art unbeatable.
— I have both tech and art close to my heart and I feel so grateful for being able to combine the two worlds in my work. Ever since the beginning of my career, I have dared to challenge the traditional world of art and chosen to go my own way. For example, I don’t work with gallery owners and instead, I run my own exhibitions together with my marketing coordinator. During my master thesis at KTH University, I developed a concept together with a tech company called Objekt360 where my art could be shown in 3D. Back then, I had noticed an interest in the art from abroad and wanted to reach out to that market in a smart, trustable, and easy way. The customers today come from all around the globe and most of the sales are done through my social channels. The paintings are being sold without showing them live. It is quite fascinating! von Essen concludes.
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