Johannes Wessmark

The light crosses the water’s surface in a spectacular fashion, it emphasises every tiny curl with a stunning minutia, something that is brilliantly done, as it makes our eyes float around the model. The water shines through its superficial strain, where the body can be found hovering delicately. The skin’s intense brightness outside of the water contrasts with its gradual discoloration, characteristic of subaquatic images, that enhances the traits between two elements that are so different from each other. The figures reflect a state of mind that witness the passage between two means, like penetrating into another world creating a different mood. A transition in which the body acquires new powers, under a unique weightlessness that allows it to remain suspended, surrounded by a thin, soft and refreshing film.

The light is naturally refracted, distorting the bodies, and, in a surreal touch, it amplifies the whole scene’s naturalness. The background tiles work as an ornament, surrounding the model in a liquified movement, filled with light and colour. The colours unfold in countless shades of blue which, with psychedelic patterns, intertwine themselves with the hues of the model itself.

The submerged figures have a soft focus, something that is underlined by the abolition of the skin’s texture, which becomes as soft as the water that reinforces the interaction between them. There are some interesting points of view, in which the model, absolutely submerged, is found to be in a superior plane to the one where we are and so we’re able to see the water surface as a background curtain, making ourselves feel submerged as well.

The use of reflected lights, filling in the shades, turn the models into angelic figures; they hover and float in the water as if they were in clouds, being capable of carrying our spirit into experiencing a similar sensation.

By Pedro Boaventura • Excerpt from Masters of Painting - Volume 1

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Johannes Wessmark was born in Karlstad, Sweden in 1962. After working as a celebrated advertising illustrator for 15 years, Johannes realized a dream to be a full-time fine artist in 2006. Johannes has since become one of the leading photorealist painters in Europe, having works exhibited in the European Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona and the Count Ibex Collection, participated and placed in countless international competitions, and been included in publications from MEAM Barcelona, and Arte y Libertad IV, Vii and X.

Johannes’ in-demand knowledge of photorealist painting has made his workshops and lectures across Sweden and the United States a valued experience for collectors and peers, and has self-published two books showcasing his specialized photorealist technique and style.

Johannes uses acrylic and oil paint on canvas to create his large-scale paintings of figures interacting with water. On the topic of his subjects, Johannes states, “In my paintings, and especially my figurative motifs, I want to convey a feeling of calm and relaxation. Water is a subject matter that have followed me for many years. As a child we had a summer-house by the Swedish west coast where we spent many holidays. Positive experiences with water that came to influence me as an artist many years later.”

Johannes was a member of The International Guild of Realism and The Swedish Artists National Organization, and lives and works as a painter in the Swedish countryside. For the moment he is showing his work at Arcadia Contemporary in Los Angeles and Metropolitan Gallery in Hamburg.

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Solo Exhibitions:

• 2014 Kils Art-association

• 2014 Gallery Arthouse, Karlstad

• 2012 Gallery Eklund, Stockholm

• 2010 Spånga Art-association

• 2010 Artspromotion Västerås

• 2010 Artspromotion Eskilstuna

• 2010 Pfizer Art-association Sollentuna

• 2009 Gallery Oscar, Marstrand

• 2009 Tierps Art-association

• 2009 Kils Art-association

• 2008 Gallery Oscar, Marstrand

• 2008 Clarion Hotell Plaza, Karlstad

• 2007 Repslagar-Museet Älvängen

• 2006 Gallery Stjärnfors Kvarn, Uddeholm

• 1998 Sunds Mansion, Säffle

• 1996 Kils Art-association

• 1992 ScanWest Art-association, Kil

• 1991 Art-association Lusten, Forshaga

• 1991 Programator Art-association, Karlstad

Group Exhibitions:

• 2016 Huston Art Fair

• 2016 Water, Water...Everywhere (Arcadia Contemporary, Los Angeles)

• 2016 Los Angeles Art Show (Arcadia Contemporary, Los Angeles)

• 2014 Los Angeles Art Show (Lotton Gallery, Chicago)

• 2014 The Robert Lange Gallery in Charleston. 9th annual IGOR show

• 2013 Gallery Seahorse, Nykoping

• 2012 Jones & Terwilliger Galleries, Carmel, California

• 2012 Gallery Knud Grothe, Copenhagen

• 2012 ArtHouse Karlstad

• 2011 Värmlands Museum, Karlstad “Shades of reality”

• 2010 National Watercolor Show, Edsviks Konsthall, Sollentuna

• 2010 Spring-exhibition Liljevalchs, Stockholm

• 2009 Gallery Oscar, Marstrand

• 2008 Värmlands Art Association Spring Exhibition, Karlstad

• 2008 All Media Fine Art Exhibit Howell, Michigan

• 2008 Melon Festival Art Show, Howell, Michigan

• 1995 Gallery K, Karlstad

• 1994 Gallery K, Karlstad

• 1991 Gallery K, Karlstad

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• 2015 The Spanish art book Arte y Libertad X

• 2014 International Artist

• 2016 American Art Collector Magazine

• 2015 American Art Collector Magazine

• 2013 American Art Collector Magazine

• 2012 The Spanish art book Arte y Libertad VII

• 2012 My own book “Johannes Wessmark – Photorealist. The paintings and the technique”

• 2012 Article in Airbrush Action Magazine

• 2011 International Dictionary of Artists

• 2009 The Spanish art book Arte y Libertad IV

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Johannes Wessmark

Johannes Wessmark - Video