In Fredrik Söderberg's work, alchemy , Eastern religion and ancient myths are mixed with archetypes and ancient symbols such as the sun, the cross and the sword. But Söderberg is not a flummer but rather a highly disciplined seeker who uses painting to explore the very essence of existence.
One of Söderberg's sources of inspiration is Carl Gustav Jung, who coined the archetype concept. But the legendary psychiatrist was also interested in Tibetan Buddhism. That is why all of Söderberg's pictures of Jung's own villa from 2012 contain a mysterious, geometric mandala that hovers over the building.
The Mandalan that appears in several of Söderberg's works is a ritual meditation circle that Tibetan monks create from colored sand. And just like the monks, Söderberg seems to regard both the process and the finished painting as a kind of magical aid to reach deeper levels in the unconscious.
For Söderberg, the craft is at least as important as the ideas. After all, it is in the meticulously executed details on, for example, Sol and Steel from 2018 that the devil really shows up, which makes the bloody massacre overwhelming. The content, on the other hand, has only been sampled from various woodcuts from the 19th century.
Although Söderberg likes all the pedigrees that are part of the Japanese woodcarving tradition, the artist is now most affected by his conversion to Catholicism. Some clear examples are the Cross and the Sun from 2019, which was inspired by stained glass windows with glass paintings found in many churches.
This impressive exhibition proves that Söderberg is one of our most interesting contemporary artists. A similar interest in spirituality and craftsmanship is also found in several of our best young designers. No wonder maybe - because even in the heavily secularized Sweden, almost every other person actually believes in some kind of spirit or life force.