Daily Inspiration: Meet Agneta Svanberg Sjofors

Today we’d like to introduce you to Agneta Svanberg Sjofors.

Hi Agneta, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Growing up in Northern Sweden, at the age of 19, my grandfather gave me my bridal chest. This gave me flashback of my earliest creative endeavors. In the chest, I found some of my earliest paintings, hiding safely away from the age of three. That flashback, that moment, spurred me to start studying and working in earnest at every opportunity to express myself through the visual arts.

This included actively studying from 1974 – 76 at the University College of Art Crafts and Design in Stockholm. In 1976 I continued with evening courses at the Royal Academy of Art in Stockholm. From 1990 – 1994 I attended The Putney School of Art and Design in London.

Working continuously in my studio in Woodland Hills, California I exhibited at Santa Monica Hanger Galleries in 2012 and 2013. In 2013 and in 2014, I exhibited in Vindeln in Northern Sweden. In 2015, I exhibited in Gallery Norrsken in Stockholm. Later that year in Roddarhuset in Vaxholm, Sweden. In 2016, I exhibited at Länsmansgården, Danderyd, Sweden and also in Vindeln in northern Sweden and at the Gallery Norrsken in Stockholm, Sweden.

In 2014, I had the opportunity to be mentored by Cynthia Ebin, International painter and sculptor and work and study exclusively in Ebin Art Studio daily. This relationship has freed me to discover a part of myself in the depth and inner workings and exploration of the heart and soul that I found I could not reach by doing realistic oil painting.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No road is smooth. I tried many different styles and techniques before I found the style I paint today. Materials from charcoal on paper, gouache, watercolor, and oil on canvas. In styles from super realistic oversized fruit and veggies, on huge canvases, to portraits of dogs and humans to emotional landscapes.

In 2012 I was diagnosed with a tumor on the base of the skull. Surgery was completely successful, but there was a risk I could have lost my vision and sense of smell and taste. It forced me to reevaluate what is important in life and in art, and it freed me to explore more emotional and expressive art forms.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I call my work “intuitive expressionism.” It starts with random patterns created by charcoal and other media types. I explore these patterns by seeing and slightly enhance the randomness. These patterns, often expressive faces, human-like and animal-like creatures, becomes a mirror of my inner self. A journey into the art. Viewer are invited to go through that same journey – to explore themselves; how the characters they see in the randomness becomes a vision of their own expressions, their fears, hopes and inner feelings.

What does success mean to you?
I believe my art creation process is substantially unique and I wish that more people would have the opportunity to see the art pieces and explore that journey into the depth of the painting to examine their own feelings and expressions.

Pricing:

• Mixed media on canvas: $2,000 – $4,000
• Charcoal on paper: $150 – $300
• Charcoal on canvas: $1,000 – $3,000

Contact Info:

• Website: https://agneta-artstudio.com
• Instagram: @agnetasjofors
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/agneta.s.sjofors

Image Credits
They are all © Agneta Svanberg Sjofors 2014 – 2023