Jockum Nordström

• "I have a lot—a lot—of books, a lot of records all over. When I make a collage, I cut first. I’m always cutting, and cutting for me is relaxing. I started with this maybe 25 years ago. You cut, and then you paint, and if a [piece] is not the right shape, you cut a little more; take off the head, make a new head. There’s a lot of freedom, it’s playful." (Jockum Nordström in an interview with Laird Borrelli-Persson for Vogue, 2017)

The work Chest of Drawers belongs to Jockum Nordström’s series of collages executed in his well-known and typical mixed media technique; figures and characters cut out of watercoloured paper with elements of pencil. His works on paper can be read as a storyboard, a comic-like sequence representing the shots planned for a film. All the action takes place simultaneously within the frozen frames of his stills. The composition in Chest of Drawers is characteristically split in two. The bright left half contains cut-out figures, piles of boards, a horse, and a house placed among the treetops. It is a scene full of dreams and plans. In the right half, the finished chest of drawers stands out against a pitch-black background. An odd solitary figure takes in the piece of furniture with a somewhat surprised expression on his face. The silhouette of the recurring tree is visible behind him, and its crown has grown to obscure the house on the horizon.

Jockum Nordström’s intriguing and witty collages have for decades captivated collectors and art critics around the world. His playful, tableau-like environments appear as scenes filled with unique figures, animals, architecture, furniture, musical instruments, and other props. Everything varies in scale and composition. The naivety and mischief in Jockum Nordström’s art are sincere yet simultaneously double-edged. In the cracks of carefreeness, traces of ennui and sometimes death anxiety seep through.

The artist has a classical education from his time at Konstfack in Stockholm from 1981 to 1985 and the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm from 1985 to 1990. Nordström uses this education as his own unique palette, and within his artistry lies a universe of paintings, drawings, paper sculptures, children's books, illustrations, and poetry collections.

Jockum Nordström is one of a small group of Swedish artists who have achieved significant international success. He is affiliated with the prestigious galleries David Zwirner (New York), Zeno X (Antwerp), and Anthony Meier (San Francisco). In Sweden, he is represented by Galleri Magnus Karlsson.