Helena Blomqvist b. 1975

Born in Smedjebacken, Dalarna 1975 I Lives and works in Stockholm

With an infallible sense of hues and lighting, together with meticulous craftsmanship, the scenography is made co-star to the leading characters in Helena Blomqvist's images. The meticulously designed sceneries suggest influences from disparate sources, such as early photomontage and film noir examples. A touch of melancholy is inherent to many of the works by Helena Blomqvist. The subdued palette brings the late 19th-century Scandinavian painting to mind and enhances this sense of melancholy. An early catalyst in the artistry of Blomqvist might be found in recent photography history in recognition of Christer Strömholm and Cindy Sherman. Where Sherman represents a highly conceptual and staged approach to photography, Strömholm is considered the most prominent figure in a documentary tradition that has long prevailed in Swedish photography. Blomqvist's work intertwines these opposites where the documentary, by allusions to external reality and topical issues, provides a setting for more stunning sceneries that points further back in the history of photography to the likes of Julia Margaret Cameron and a bygone sensuality.

Blomqvist studied at the School of Photography and Film in Gothenburg, Sweden. Blomqvist's work has been shown in numerous solo exhibitions, including at Vida Museum & Konsthall, Halltorp, Bror Hjorts Museum, Uppsala, Linköpings Konsthall, Fotografiska, Stockholm, the Swedish Embassy in Berlin, and at Living Art Museum Nylo, Reykjavik. In addition, her works are represented in collections at the Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Hasselblad Foundation, Gothenburg, Borås Art Museum, and private collections.

Galerie Forsblom has been representing Helena Blomqvist since 2017.