Jonas Malmberg | Mjuk frukt
We are pleased to present Jonas Malmberg’s first solo exhibition at Berg Gallery, titled Mjuk frukt (’Soft fruit’). The exhibition features a new series of paintings.
Looking at Jonas Malmberg’s work is like entering a darkened room. At first, everything is dim and indistinct. Then gradually, as your eyes adjust, shapes and objects begin to emerge. The fading light and the color palette dominated by blues and purples help to create a sense of stillness and melancholy while hinting at something ominous.
His work combines imagery from various sources in a collage-like manner. It is deeply rooted in art history but also draws inspiration from mass media imagery, resulting in compositions that often feel both dreamlike and anachronistic. Exotic animals appear as central figures in his works, evoking associations to both fables and biblical narratives.
The animals in Malmberg’s paintings allude to a long tradition of anthropomorphization—the act of attributing human traits to animals. Through them, we can reflect on what is essentially human. At the same time, they represent a modern experience where nature is something we observe from a distance rather than engage with directly. As a result, it can be perceived as both familiar and alien, real and staged.
In his artistic practice, Malmberg constantly relates to this duality. Using Renaissance and Baroque imagery as a foundation, he examines his own contemporary reality—one in which the boundary between the real and the imagined is becoming increasingly blurred.
Jonas Malmberg (b. 1987, Linköping) lives and works in Stockholm. He holds a BFA from Bergen Academy of Art and Design (2012–2015) and an MFA from Umeå Art Academy (2015–2017). In 2018, he was awarded the Fredrik Roos Scholarship and presented a solo exhibition at Artipelag, Gustavsberg. Previous solo exhibitions include Galleri Sander, Linköping (2023, 2017), Galleri Thomas Wallner, Simris (2022), and Galleri Ping-Pong, Malmö (2021). Malmberg has also participated in group exhibitions at Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm, Konstkompaniet, Stockholm, Södertälje Konsthall, Curated by Ebba de Faire c/o Sotheby’s, Stockholm, OBRA, Malmö, and Linköpings Konsthall. He has received a number of grants, most recently the Stockholm City Studio Grant (2024), the Swedish Arts Grants Committee’s one-year working grant (2023), and the Ellen Trotzig Fund, awarded by Malmö Konstmuseum (2021). Malmberg is represented in the collections of Malmö Konstmuseum, Norrköpings Konstmuseum, Region Skåne, and Linköping Municipality.
