CAMILLA ENGSTRÖM

Early Years

Örebro-born Engström graduated from the Parsons School of Design in 2009, after which she worked in fashion in New York. A self-taught artist, Engström received widespread attention for her drawings of her alter ego Husa, the Swedish word for housemaid.

Camilla Engström Artworks

Engström’s works are marked by their vibrant, sunset-like colour palette. Often using orange, pink, and green tones, Engström creates bucolic, organic portraits of women and nature inspired by the healing qualities of Mother Nature. Her works may be compared to those of Georgia O’Keeffe or Hilma af Klint.

Husa

Engström’s earlier paintings often featured her alter ego Husa, a full-bodied, mischievous pink character. Husa embodied the antithesis of the artist’s previous experience in the fashion industry, where the ideal body was tall and thin. Engström has depicted Husa engaged in various activities and taking different forms – as a giant, as a miniature, picking up trees, playing with the sun, and sitting within someone’s ear.

Feminine Landscapes

In Guldflod (Gold River) (2021), Engström paints a golden sun-like form in the shape of a breast, from which milk falls into the river within a valley. The breast is a consistent symbol in Engström’s practice, and recurs in works such as Mjölkregn över mjukt landskap (milk rain over soft landscape) (2021) and Blödande Sol (Bleeding Sun) (2021), where the sun-breasts provide life to psychedelic landscapes.

Volcanos

The motif of the volcano is often seen in Engström’s works, including Tidigt Var (Spring Welcome) (2021), Steaming Volcanos (2021), and Natt Til Dag (Night to Day) (2021). In these paintings, translucent waves of steam billow upwards from volcanic craters, with the geological formations sitting alongside rolling hills and rippling mountains.

Exhibitions

Camilla Engström has held solo exhibitions at Carl Kostyál, Stockholm (2021); Over the Influence, Los Angeles (2020); and Deli Gallery, New York (2016).

Engström’s work has been included in group exhibitions at Carl Kostyál, Stockholm (2022); SPRING/BREAK Art Show, Los Angeles (2019); and Big Pictures, Los Angeles (2018).

Website

Camilla Engström’s website can be found here, and her Instagram can be found here.

Arianna Mercado | Ocula | 2022