Jonatan Pihlgren: Unfolding Stories at Coulisse Gallery

Editorial

11.02.2026

Jonatan Pihlgren, 'Litet universum / Little universe, (2025)

For Market Art Fair 2026, Coulisse Gallery presents Jonatan Pihlgren, an artist whose work explores subtle transformations of everyday life. Working with painting, sculpture, and performance, his practice examines how emotion and intuition shape perception, allowing familiar situations to shift and unfold.

Pihlgren’s practice is driven by improvisation and the possibilities within painting and sculpture. His works often depict recognisable realities that are slightly altered, opening up spaces for reflection and moments of quiet dissonance.

Each work begins from a personal point of departure, with intuition guiding the process. Pihlgren draws inspiration from people close to him, including family and friends, as well as animals, which recur throughout his work. While painting remains central, he also works with sculpture and performance, creating works intended to exist independently of the artist.

Jonatan Pihlgren, 'Lekens slut / The end of play', (2025)

The paintings develop through a collage-like process in which forms and figures are added, painted over, or replaced as the work progresses. Over time, the image reaches a point of coherence where decisions about completion emerge. Layering and reworking remain central to the process, allowing the work to evolve gradually and retain a sense of lived time.

For the fair in April, Pihlgren presents a continuation of his exploration of the home. Interiors are transformed into still lifes and memento mori of the everyday.

Jonatan Pihlgren
Jonatan Pihlgren, 'Käpphäst/Hobbyhorse', (2025)

Through these interior scenes, Pihlgren holds tenderness and discomfort in close proximity. Painting from life, he documents those closest to him, allowing family members, friends, and animals to occupy these spaces. The works remain grounded in the familiar while leaving room for ambiguity to surface.