b. 1981, based in Stockholm, SE

Jim Thorell is a Stockholm based artist whose paintings present microcosms of visual worlds in a pictorial language of his own making. The chaotic nature of Thorell’s compositions give the impression that they expand beyond the picture frame, acting as a constrained view of something bigger. Through this, the works engage the viewer with an openness amidst a sea of dense shapes and a merging of different pictorial grounds. This atmosphere is deepened by a formal fluidity of forms versus a metaphorical fluidity that weaves Thorell’s conceptual rethinkings of reality and ideology into his pictures. Sometimes the shapes in his works bend and curve around each other, creating wonky yet fantastically illustrative depictions of people, plants, and imaginary animals. The artist’s lines are rough and gestural, consisting of swirling scribbles or splatters and drips like from fresh spray paint. Drawing inspiration from different areas – from surrealism to graffiti - Thorell elevates the mundane, the banal, and the ordinary. In the heightened energy his works, there is also a radiance of tranquility from the pastel colors, not aggression. In managing to hedge the turbulence in his compositions, Thorell reigns over the fluctuating energy and tensions between the visual elements, subduing them into visually stimulating and expertly contained works of art.

Jim Thorell lives and works in Stockholm after having studied a Master of Fine Arts at Valand Academy in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2010. He had previously also studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, Kanazawa University in Japan, and the Vietnam University of Fine Arts in Hanoi. He has been featured in group and solo exhibitions including Tidepoolsat LOYAL in Stockholm (2024),The Great Longing – The Act of Painting at Sweden’s Bohusläns Museum (2019), the Nordic Contemporary Art Collection in Norway (2017), and Painting Failures at the Moderna Museet (2016).