Fredrik Söderberg

Miskatonic 6, 2007

"Fredrik Söderberg´s water color paintings are filled with icons of a magical or occult meaning, for example they have a relation to Aleister Crowley, Old Norse runes, smurfs or the scary trees in a Bamse comic book. Meaning in a work of art is never found in separate elements because they are created by the audience’s attempt to bring order to the contradictions. Several of Söderberg´s compositions play with traditional dichotomies: innocent – brutal, cute – threatening etc, and by doing this, he inscribes himself in the tradition of semiotic terrorism. But while this movement regularly has exercised shallow provocations in attempts to shock and confuse the audience, Söderberg´s work instead calls for reflection." Via Rental Gallery.

One of the most remarkable things about Fredrik Söderberg's work is the way that it flattens (pop) cultural references and esoteric symbolic code into a single cohesive occult sign system--it's like seeing the Smurfs and Black Sabbath as interpreted through Lady Frieda Harris. Good stuff.

Call of Cthulu 3, 2007

Black Moth, 2006

Gryning, 2005

Arcana 7, 2007