ANNA CAMNER (b. 1977, Stockholm, Sweden) lives and works in Stockholm. Anna Camner’s work elicits a tactile curiosity. The smooth textures of the paintings function both as safeguards and constraints, imparting dominance over the human body with glossy perfection while minimalist motifs blur the lines between synthetic and human. In her latest body of work Camner focuses on the membrane. In the words of Swedish writer Nils Forsberg, “The membrane structure is dynamic and fluid, it can change and adapt over time, both structurally and functionally. It is entirely essential to the perpetuation of life as we know it. I see the membrane as a useful point of reference in approaching Anna Camner’s art”. Camner’s alla prima method, applying wet paint without allowing adjacent parts to dry, is characterized by spontaneity and immediacy. As each segment is carefully pre-planned, the technical challenges of this method push Camner into a kind of trance, where she must let go of conscious control, allowing the subconscious to play a more significant role in decision-making. This desire for liberation from the conscious is a consistent theme in her practice. Guided by a surrealist sensibility, her painting practice finds itself in the crossroads of figuration and abstraction.

Camner holds an MFA from the Royal Institute of Art (Stockholm). Solo shows include Wetterling Gallery (Stockholm), Galerie Forsblom (Stockholm), Christian Larsen (Stockholm), Stellan Holm (New York) and Faggionato (London). Her work has been presented institutionally at Magasin III (Stockholm), Liljevalchs (Stockholm), Färgfabriken (Stockholm), Örebro Konsthall (Örebro), The International Biennial of Contemporary Art (Cartagena) and is currently on view at the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art and Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery. Camner’s work is in the collections of UBS (Stockholm), Magasin III (Stockholm), Malmö Konstmuseum, Public Art Agency (Stockholm) and Wanås Konst (Knislinge). Anna Camner has an upcoming exhibition at Liljevalchs June 2024.