Nathalia Edenmont – Only Me
17 January—16 March 2014
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17 January—16 March 2014
Nathalia Edenmont has stirred many feelings. She studied to become a socialist-realist painter in the former USSR, and came to Sweden to make a future. Over the years, she developed a unique imagery that is disturbing to some, exciting to others, but fascinating to all. In only a few years she successfully established herself as one of the most important Swedish artists, and she exchanged the paint brush for a large-format camera.
In her staged photographs we meet a world of seductive beauty and intense pain, of transformation and transcendence. Beneath the perfect surface and matchless composition, her works always question the reality we think we can trust.
From her earlier still-lifes, which incorporated animals and other objects in a startling way, Nathalia Edenmont has moved on to more monumental, staged portraits. Along with her abstract compositions with butterfly wings, these portraits have dominated her oeuvre during the past years.
The exhibition at Sven-Harrys Konstmuseum features recent works by the artist, with a few earlier pieces to provide context. Works from different series are juxtaposed to bridge the differences and reveal the underlying themes of the artist’s overall narrative.
For many years, Nathalia Edenmont has created an imagery all her own, often with autobiographical references; an imagery that features recurring subjects, compositions and symbols. She frequently alludes to art history, but also refers back to her own earlier work. Some clues help us navigate Nathalia Edenmont’s world: sexuality, fecundity, family relations, childhood and puberty; but also loneliness, vulnerability, pain and death.
While the rooms at entry level give a lighter impression, with colours, flowers and butterflies that charm the viewer with an almost mindboggling beauty, the upstairs rooms show darker, more intimate pictures.
