| EDUCATION & INFO |
| Forum Art School Malmo 1976-1978 Art School NVS Fhs. Munka Ljungby 1978-1980 Bachelor Of Art Umeå 1980-1983 |
| Sholarship Region Halland Culturegrant 2005 Hallandspostens Cultureprice 2013 Region Halland Culturegrant 2018 |
|
MÅS Persson 2011 |
| The Art and the Artist If I was to describe my art, there are some themes that run across much of my artwork. For instance, I have a range of colour in which I prefer to work. I like ultramarine and cadmium orange. They are each other’s opposites, and each other’s complements. The balance between these two distinct colours, by themselves as well as mixed together with an urban palette, form the basis for many of my pieces.Another theme is the structure of my work. I do my paintings with acrylic on MDF hard board. I like to experiment with textures and so I apply many layers of paint which I scratch and smudge and repaint to get a foundation on which to build my art. My paintings often look three-dimensional as if they are sculptures, yet they are flat. I achieve this effect by working extensively with perspective, sometimes impossible, and shadows, and also by cutting out the painting, as well as cutting away specific areas inside the painting, using a tiny saw blade. When I am done with a piece, I often place them in hand made white frames, with black background.Another common theme is the motifs of my art. I create urban landscapes, with structures that stack on top of each other. Buildings that rests firmly or are near a collapse. Even though I often start with detailed sketches before starting to paint, the paintings grow and change as I paint them. I like to experiment with forms and shapes to surprise myself with ideas during the process of painting. There are also recurring characters in my pieces: lonely individuals who share the same structures, yet are separated from each other. I see an irony in this.I started out with showcasing my art locally in Malmö in the late seventies, and have since then participated in national and international exhibitions. I have had solo exhibitions in many different parts of the world: in Denmark, Norway, Finland, France, Holland, Spain, Singapore and Sweden. I have also participated in art fairs in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Holland, France and Singapore and Belgium. Finally, I have created several public works in Sweden and Denmark. For an exhaustive overview of previous exhibitions and events I have participated in, please visit the CV page. Each post is hyperlinked to its corresponding event.My interest in art is something that I have had and pursued actively since I was small. I started painting early in my life. I got my first set of oil colours and an easel at the age of ten. At the age of sixteen I went to a gymnasium that had art as a subject, with specialisation in aesthetics. After that I went to Forum art school in Malmö to study modelling and painting in the evenings with teacher Jaques Zadig,1975-1977. Then I attended Munka Ljungby Folkhögskola Konstlinjen, the art course 1978-1980. I then moved to Umeå and spend three years studying for a degree in Bachelor of Art 1980-1983. During this time I had my first real solo exhibition at Galleri Eklund, the major gallery in Umeå. After I graduated in 1983 I moved to Halmstad where I had my first exhibition in 1986 at Konstfrämjandet, Gallery Victoria. I also worked part time as an art teacher, 1983-2000. Since then I have been working full time as an artist.MÅS is my initials Mats Åke Stefan. |
