Julia Bondesson b. 1983

Julia Bondesson was born in Kinnared, Sweden.

Lives and works in Åled, Sweden.

Bodies and body parts are the backbone of Bondesson’s works. Her material is predominantly wood, and the meticulously carved and chiselled sculptures, with occasional scorch marks, have an exposed and vulnerable quality. She often combines the traditional qualities of wood sculptures with paint, stain, neon light, rope and textile elements. Trained in sculpture and puppet making in both Sweden and Asia, her work combines tradition with a very personal and contemporary language. 

Bondesson’s interest in Chinese philosophy and western psychology can be sensed in the works. The beauty of the material and the careful craftsmanship of sculpting, is often somewhat disturbed and highlighted in the combination of materials and the elements of paint or stain. The artist often activates the sculptures physically, using them as matter in performances or videos, where the sculptures are activated as puppets, blurring the boundary between object and subject. For Bondesson, the performances can be seen as a collaboration with the sculptures, as a dance, a choreography between the artist and her works.

Bondesson  graduated from the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm in 2011 and has also studied hand puppetry in Taiwan and art in Japan and Thailand. Recent solo exhibitions include Kungsbacka konsthall, 2023, Trelleborgs konstmuseum, 2022, Åstorps konsthall, 2022, Galleri Verkligheten, Umeå, 2022, Belenius, Stockholm, 2021, Moderna Museet, Malmö, 2021, Eskilstuna konstmuseum, Eskilstuna, 2019, Krognoshuset Aura, Lund, 2018, Hertha Hillfon c/o Skeppsholmen, Stockholm, 2018, and Vandalorum, Värnamo, 2017. In 2015, the artist was awarded the Beckers artist grant. Julia Bondesson is represented in the collections of Moderna Museet, Hallands konstmuseum, Malmö Art Museum, Region Skåne, Stockholm Konst, Växjö kommun and Jönköpings läns landsting and many prominent private collections.