Johan Petterson

In Johan Petterson's artistic universe, the frog returns as a central figure, ready for the upcoming leap. The artist seems to be interested not only in the frog itself, but rather in the hope to come. The frog thus becomes a metaphor for hope, stylized and frozen in a waiting and motionless pose. It resembles a "rubber" that cannot be fully integrated into the depth found in the fairy-tale landscape in the background.

The colors in Petterson's work are distorted and intense. The contrast between the stylized frog shape and the softly applied background is enhanced by the unconventional color treatment. The artist plays as freely and experimentally with oil paint as if he were exploring endless possibilities on a computer with programs such as Photoshop or Painter. The background appears to have undergone some form of "Gaussian blur" filter.

Petterson's collage technique, where he plays with different layers, permeates the entire exhibition. In some paintings, however, he breaks with the "computer aesthetic" through clear elements of hand-drawn and painted objects and figures. It creates interesting level differences in the images, both technically and mentally. The theme of hope returns in the titles of the paintings. ("Hope & love" is, for example, the title of the picture above.) It seems that the artist wants to encourage the viewer to jump between different levels, both in thoughts and experiences.