Matttias Sammekull (born 1972, Stockholm) – is one of Sweden’s most intriguing contemporary figurative painters. His technical splendor is obvious, a craftsmanship gained from many years of thorough studies of the old masters.
His visual language is clearly influenced by Italian and north European renaissance painters as well as 20th century surrealism and contemporary popculture.
Sammekull’s realm of motifs always centre around the figure, alone or in a group. His work is distinguished by an intense study and deep examination of the human psyche and our universal and fundamental emotions.
Tranquility, the sense of a frozen moment in time, is an ever present ingredient in his body of work, as is an electrical charge leaving few unaffected.
His figures emerges from both the subconscious and his imagination, yet still they have roots in the artist’s memories, emotions and dreams.
The others, as Sammekull calls his distorted figures, are recognized by their weak shoulders and big clumsy hands. They exist in an alternative reality, a secret and inaccessible world not that different from ours. But still they manage, with their intense gazes and seductive presence, to bridge the distance between the painter’s inner hidden world and the spectator.