Wednesday 22nd October 2014
This week on artist spotlight is an up and coming young photographer from Sweden named Tommy Ingberg. While not formally trained as an artist, Ingberg's photography has attracted worldwide acclaim, and he has recently been selected for the "One to Watch" feature by Saatchi Art, which is dedicated to showcasing emerging artistic talents. He recently took the Gold Medal in the 2014 PX3 Prix De La Photographie Paris, only the latest in a series of awards and commendations dating from his initial forays into the art world.
His photography, or perhaps more accurately his photo collages, display an exquisite technical proficiency that throws the incredibly surrealistic subject matter that has become his hallmark. Working exclusively in high-key black and white, his pieces show a haunting commentary on his views regarding traditional value systems and the inherent hollowness of the average wage-earner's daily rat race.
On his website, he describes his journey into art: "In this work I found something I loved doing and something I could be proud of. I found a purpose, and with that purpose a way to start climbing upwards out of the hole I spent so much time digging. It has not gone straight up, and it has not been an easy journey, life seldom is, but I’ve kept on climbing.
I think this is the awesome thing about life. Without the bad stuff you can’t have the really good. Without living through my bad stuff, I would not have found my art."
Some of the motifs are perhaps a touch emotionally overwrought, something that Ingberg discusses in depth on the story section of his website, so he can perhaps be forgiven for some of the more excessively melodramatic images as he works through the particular expressions that bring such works to light. Overall, his body of work is powerful in its false simplicity and technical precision. Not exactly breaking new ground in the conceptual department, but the results are incredibly beautiful and well worth a look. Limited edition prints are also available, and they are truly limited editions - older works have only 20 prints, and newer works an even rarer 5 prints per image. If his rise continues at the same rate as it has up until now, they are likely to appreciate in value - and if not, they're still beautiful pieces.
Posted on October 22nd 2014 on 03:43am
