Anna Camner

Anna Camner, born in 1977, graduated from the Royal Art Academy in Stockholm in 2003. Camner soon became noted for her unusually detailed and masterfully executed oil paintings on plexi glass board, depicting dark Vanitas narratives from nature. After several solo exhibitions in New York and London, the artists is now making a long-awaited comeback in Sweden with a large solo exhibition in Stockholm for the first time in eight years.

The new suite of works marks a departure from Camner’s earlier paintings, which used to burst with foliage, flowers, insects, spider web, snails and rodents, all in various stages of decay. Conceptually, the artist still moves in the dark borderland between life and death, but her subjects, always painted against a solid pitch black background, have been refined, given a stronger focus and a minimalist character. The most striking feature of the new paintings is their inherent mystery, enhanced by a feeling of uncertainty about what we are looking at. Is it alive or dead matter? Are these things or living organisms? Is it dark or light?

The title Dunkler Frühling means ”dark spring” in German and is borrowed from the book with the same title by the cult writer Unica Zürn. The critically acclaimed Swedish poet Helena Eriksson, who has recently published a book on Unica Zürn and Hans Bellmer, has written a poetic piece about the art of Anna Camner which we have the pleasure to present in the exhibition. 

Anna Camner lives and works in Stockholm. She has exhibited recently at the 1st Biennal Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo (BIACI), Cartagena de Indias (2014), Stellan Holm Gallery, New York (2014, 2011); Faggionato, London (2012); and Magasin 3, Stockholm (2011). Her works are included in several major public collections in Sweden such as Wanås Konst, the National Art Council and Magasin 3, as well as the UBS Art Collection. She also has works in prominent private collections in Europe and the United States.