Åsa Cederqvist

“With my work I want to detach mental constructs and provide keys to every human’s potential greatness.”

Art has through all times had a mythic dimension and served as a means for transformation, transition and transcendence. The work of Åsa Cederqvist has to be seen in this context. The circle of life, human emotions and psychological states of the mind are what make up the sources of inspiration for her work. With her extremely sensual and seductive installations she captures turning points in life and stresses the importance of art as an expression of nativeness that allows existential boundary experiences. Working with sculptural installations, film, performance and music, Åsa Cederqvist is a conceptually challenging artist offering a wide range of possibilities to interpret her works.

In her sculptures, Åsa Cederqvist combines a multiplicity of materials like cloth, chains, glass, ropes, found objects and more in organic forms, often hung from the ceiling and walls. These at the first glance overwhelming abstract bulges and shreds are gradually taking concrete forms and always evolve numerous and very individual associations in the observer. They contain a strong haptic attraction with their sharp contrasts between velvet and glass, soft transparency and metal potency. With their all-around setting, they re-define the room and create a dramatic atmosphere the viewer cannot escape.

The single pieces in Cederqvist’s work become substitutes of human bodies, identities, stories, experiences and emotions. As such, they play their specific role in the surrealistic installations, which the artist interacts with in her performances. They act as means of communication and as a catalyst between the artist and the public. At the same time they refer to a common visual language that attaches them importance embedded in the frame of conventions and history.

Åsa Cederqvist is born in 1975 and studied Fine Arts at Konstfack (University College of Fine Arts, Crafts and Design,) Stockholm, Sweden. She has been paid attention to in various exhibitions in highly renowned institutions like Moderna Museet, Bonniers Konsthall, Färgfabriken and the Venice Biennale. Since 2010 Åsa works as senior lecturer in Fine arts at the Textile programme at Konstfack, Stockholm.