The evocative title of Axel Jonsson’s third gallery show, Plan de Dieu (translated as God’s Plan), invites interpretation as a question rather than a statement. Jonsson explores fundamental ideas of humanistic coexistence, captured in six works—oil paintings on canvas and watercolors on paper. Their narratives draw equally from real-world events and the artist’s personal experiences.
The title-giving painting, a corner shop with personal service, depicts exquisite products and delicacies. French red wine, blue crabs and herring native to the Western Atlantic, as well as various sausage and cheese products, are offered for sale alongside simple, unpackaged groceries. They seem to symbolizse a disappearing shopping experience and a changing consumer world.
Also discussed in the context of a recurring theme in Jonsson’s oeuvre: the maritime scene. Jonsson dedicates Morning on Kvarken to the story of a contemporary Swedish seal hunter, working in the Kvarken region of the Baltic Sea. Once overhunted as main food source and threatened with extinction, these mammals later experienced overpopulation. Now regulated through invasive species control, the phenomenon of hunting sparks moral debates in society.
The absurdity in the development of an industry is depicted by Jonsson in the painting titled Clipperton, where a simple fisherman greets the workers on a trawler. No longer fishing for human consumption, but for the production of feed for the farming of salmon, these vessels are emptying the Baltic Sea from fish with their nets.
A more serene moment, the meditative pause of three women engaged in a card game, lies at the heart of the painting The Broken Baler. The location is depicted in its actual setting, a horse stable that Jonsson’s mother and the artist himself visited as a child, including a whiteboard and notes. The place is characterized by its proximity to a cattle farm operation with pastures, which is referenced through a handwritten comment about the upcoming repair of the baler. Personal memories mix with the attribution of selected details, each telling their own stories while, when connected, forming the narrative of the painting.
Jonsson’s figurative style is characterized by a meticulous depiction of textures and a detailed, formal portrayal of everyday items. His works emphasize not only the presence of human figures but also the symbolic weight of objects themselves. Their significance often rivals that of the human protagonists, shaping the overall atmosphere of his paintings. By presenting these elements as historical documents and allegories, Jonsson elevates their meaning. Through thoughtful placement, they take on the power to define entire narratives. This reverence is expressed both on Jonsson’s expansive canvases and in his approach to still life.
In his paper works Wisdom and Still Life With Texas Souvenirs, this is achieved by opening up a philosophical and pop cultural layer. A water basin with an inscription and a cod illustration, next to which an unadorned chalice is placed, evokes a parable, almost like a visual riddle. The knife, the metallic belt parts, and the Mexican candy are souvenirs from the artist’s personal trip to Texas. Romantic in personal memory, they simultaneously function as a metaphor for pressing contemporary issues such as violence, tradition and belief.
Axel Jonsson (born 1991 in Sweden) studied at the Gerlesborgsskolan in Stockholm (2012–2014) and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna (2014–2020), where he graduated with a diploma in the class of Daniel Richter. Jonsson lives and works in Vienna and has been represented by the Galerie Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman since 2021.
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