Galleri Hammarén, SE

Johan Carlsson Ström’s compositions are muted in colour. The seemingly patinated paintings appear as aged, but cannot be pinpointed to any particular period. The images operate at a low frequency, murmuring or almost whispering their secretive content. Gradually, they draw the viewer into an enigma. The artist’s subtle references are not infrequently found within the world of true crime and horror films.

Johan Carlsson Ström’s images appear as muffled echoes from distant or past places, somewhere on the outer edge of consciousness. The muted colouring tones reactivate obscure, elusive memories. Inner and outer life intertwine, matter seems to be alive and vaguely ominous as in dreams. We glide seamlessly between presence and loss, memory and oblivion, life and death.