I have worked as a painter for about 25 years. My painting motifs have varied through the years, with a kind of oppositeness in common; like light/shadow, heimlich/unheimlich, beautiful/disgusting. There are two sides of everything – this is something very essential for me, for some wordless reasons.

Before I changed my studies to become an artist, I studied journalism and worked in that field for a few years – but I found out I needed to express myself differently. My concern for and interest in society is still there since those early years, but my way to express myself goes someplace where knowledge meets the poetic and surrealistic. A bit paradoxically, I enjoy words and writing, but I end up doing pictures because there are not always words. Or I might find my words through painting.

My concern for society has driven me to engage in things as long as time allows beside painting; Right now it is mostly about my engagement in Kohta kunsthalle, which I founded in 2017 together with some colleges. Earlier it has been picture book manuscripts, drawing maps or curating art on electricity distribution boxes in Helsinki, where I live. I also write, mostly poems, and my book Mönster utan (ö-) prickar was released in December 2024.

In 2025, I was invited to curate a group exhibition about illness, Morbus, in Villa Gyllenberg, a private museum in Helsinki. A very inspiring project for me, since I could combine my own painting with planning and coordinating, and also writing a couple of essays for the publication.

Please find more of my works and thoughts on instagram @abergmagdalena.

Magdalena Åberg