Elin Alm Rosenblad
Art that heals is what Elin Alm Rosenblad is all about.
Her work is bright, charming, light and yes—healing, we asked her a few questions about her journey as an artist as well as her interests.
Can you briefly introduce yourself?
My name is Elin Alm Rosenblad and I currently live, work and study in Stockholm, Sweden. My practice consists of being a fine arts painter, working in my studio on a daily basis, and selling my artworks. I have also had some exhibitions in Sweden and once I exhibited my work in Berlin.
A couple of years ago I was offered to paint the walls of a children's hospital. There, I found myself able to combine the different means of work that I feel constitute the essence of my artistry—being able to directly impact the mood and well-being of other people. Through dialogues with the hospital's visitors and staff, I was influenced by the space itself and its people. It felt very purposeful to work so closely with others, and it turned the whole thing into a kind of shared experience. After that project, I've continued to work in other children's hospitals, creating similar site specific art, and it’s felt amazing to naturally be moving into such an exciting new work field.
During the past few years I’ve been moving around studying fine arts at different art schools, while trying to figure out what aims I have with my practice. When I lived in Brighton, England, I understood how important the social part of my art practice was. Therefore, I realized that I don't want to only work as a solo artist but also find a way of including other people and support art as a practice for anyone who feels engaged in doing it. Thus I decided that studying fine arts was too much of a solitary—and perhaps even selfish—path for me, and instead I'm now studying an educational arts program at the Konstfack school in Stockholm, and during the past two summers, I have together with two friends organized art courses for young people aged 12-17.
Have you always been an artist?
Yes, I think so. Even though I was very insecure as a child, I always knew that I could and wanted to paint. It simply is something which I cannot live without doing.
How do you get inspiration for your pieces?
Going through life is of course the one great source of inspiration, and I find myself the most inspired after having gone through rough periods, because it is during those periods I’m forced to really grow, and the transformation naturally becomes reflected and manifested through my art.
Lately I’m in a phase of painting animals, and I think it is some kind of unconscious reaction to what's happening in the world and its nature on a larger scale. It's also interesting to observe the dissonance which is being created when I paint natural creatures in urban environments, and I think it’s a subtle comment on the fact that many of us have forgotten that we are still natural beings, in a world which might feel more and more unnatural.
“My color palette is also a kind of emotional language, which changes a lot from period to period.”
We notice that color plays a big role in your pieces. What colors inspire you the most?
I think my usage of color is a way of showing how I view the world, communicating what one experiences beyond a realistic surface, and filling in the gaps of what we cannot always catch only with our eyes. My color palette is also a kind of emotional language, which changes a lot from period to period. I think I’m also using colors as a way of shifting the focus and emphasizing the fact that one can always find brightness and color even within darkness. Many of my paintings treat topics of certain difficulties and struggles, but for me, it’s as if the light glows more intensely in the dark. That’s what I want to communicate—to simply say fuck off to all the darkness, because life is just too short for us to become bitter.
“Many of my paintings treat topics of certain difficulties and struggles, but for me, it’s as if the light glows more intensely in the dark.”
What is next for you?
Right now I’m working on a project with my musician friend Sofia. Together we want to create an audible children’s book where my paintings in conjunction with her music form a colorful story where the readers can sing along throughout the book. The book will be released in physical copies, together with a link to an audio stream for people to be able to read and listen all at once. Hopefully it will get published in 2020. Making a children’s book has always been a great dream of mine, so this whole thing just feels too good to be true!
Other than that I’m looking forward to continuing my work as a painter, and hopefully do more public painting. It would also be wonderful to travel somewhere with my art and become more active on an international level.
Written by Diane Lindquist