Stockholm-based artist Joakim Ojanen crafts pastel-colored characters that seem to be varying ages at the same time, while playing with perspective. He accomplishes this in both 2D and 3D, using oil portraits and stoneware sculptures to bring his visions to life. Above, one towering character is given even stranger depth in bronze.
“One notices Ojanen’s iconography is reminiscent of a comic book language,” a statement says. “In pictorial terms, his artwork hints at the works of Philip Guston, Keith Haring and at times the Surrealist paintings of Salvador Dali. However Ojanen states, ‘It’s dangerous to look at one artist too much.’ Instead, a framework of emotions structures Ojanen’s introverted creative process. ‘I work a lot with feelings. I would say that is the main core of my work. It’s about finding the right posture, the right eyes, smile and so on, (in order) to capture something I couldn’t make up in my mind. It’s about trying until I get something that feels right.’”
See more of his work below.
