Joakim OjanenSweden

Joakim Ojanen (b. 1985, Västerås, SE) creates artworks that engage directly with our emotional constitution. His fascination with feelings, cartoons, and comics gave rise to unique figures—at times duck-like or dog-like, yet infused with unmistakably human traits. While Ojanen first sketched and painted his characters on canvas, he later transitioned into ceramics, sculpting beings that wobble between animals, clowns, children, and aliens. These characters act as emotional mirrors, drawing the viewer into reflections on childhood, sadness, personal growth, and vulnerability. Sports, music, and cultural symbols appear subtly through their clothing and gestures.

Through his figures, Ojanen explores hard-to-articulate parts of his own emotional world, examining childhood as a foundational component of human experience. His art is a deeply personal yet universally resonant visual diary that translates affect into expressive form.

He has had numerous significant solo exhibitions, including at The Hole in New York (2021, 2019), Nanzuka Underground in Tokyo (2022), Richard Heller Gallery in Santa Monica (2020, 2018), and Dio Horia in Mykonos (2019). Group exhibitions include major showings at Magasin III in Stockholm (2018), Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale in South Korea (2017), and CFHILL in Stockholm (2020). He received the Carl Axel Valén Art Grant (2019), Jenny Lind Stipendium from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (2017), and a working grant from the Swedish Arts Grants Committee (2015). His works are held in several major collections, including Magasin III (Stockholm), Colección SOLO (Madrid), Statens Konstråd (Stockholm), The Bunker Artspace (Palm Beach), and The Art Institute of Chicago (Ryerson & Burnham Libraries).