Collection: Infusing life - Elsa Åkesson

 Elsa Åkesson adopted oil painting as the main medium in her artistic practice. She strives to create striking color contrasts to convey the atmosphere and emotions of her subjects. After a trip to Marrakech, a radiant blue became her signature colour, now found throughout her body of works. Her yellows symbolize joy, vitality, and the inner light of beings. Elsa pays meticulous attention to texture and the quality of her materials, which are of great importance in her practice: high-quality, handmade pigments that make her works more luminous and durable over time. 

Her simple and clean compositions enhance her often realistic subjects and open meditative spaces that aim to immerse us in the free world of play and childhood. The effect is an immediate feeling of raw, unfiltered joy. “Through my works, I seek to create a utopian universe in color, into which the viewer is invited to enter and leave behind negative reality.” Elsa Åkesson seeks to convey a sense of purity, the joy of living, and the positive energy that inhabits people, distancing us from sometimes miserabilist clichés about Africa. The capacity for happiness is a unique gift, not always conditioned by economic status. Without denying the difficult context her country is going through, her stays in Madagascar constantly remind her of people’s ability to live in the present moment. Elsa explores vital forces and suspended moments of childhood, as well as our relationship to joy and gratitude. “There is always a bit of me in my work; I am a very positive person and wish to convey a profound feeling of optimism.” 

Optimistic and authentic – Elsa Åkesson is eminently so. The artist, who created artsy respectful packaging, is deeply committed to reducing the environmental impact of the art market. She’s also playing her part to support the younger generation in Madagascar, participating in charity sales and donating fifteen percent of her art sales to projects supporting local communities in Tuléar, in Southern Madagascar. 

More recently, the artist has expanded her practice to sculpture and created pieces using mixed media, incorporating textiles and other materials into her canvases. The clear subjects literally emerge from the frame, which takes on a more organic form, inviting us to expand or de-multiply our gaze. She also explores the feminine condition through self-portraits, nudes, and a series of draped fabrics that subtly reveal the ebb and flow of an intense emotional life. This insatiable curiosity and her ability to innovate undoubtedly make her an artist to watch.