Meta Isæus-Berlin

Meta Isæus-Berlin, born in Stockholm, is a Swedish painter, installation artist and sculptor of international reputation. Her output is defined by a unique ability to blur the boundaries between dreams and reality, creating a psychoanalytical symbolism that is both ominous and illuminating. Her paintings weave new meanings from familiar stories and art history, incorporating fragments of domestic life, fairy tales, and spiritual elements into a rich tapestry of images. This distinctive approach was showcased in her celebrated solo exhibition Nattlogik (5 October 2019 - 15 February 2020) at Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde in Stockholm. Art critic Frans Josef Petersson wrote in his review of the exhibition (‘Verk som drömlikt vrider på verkligheten. Meta Isæus-Berlin har ett angeläget budskap om att tillvaron är komplex, sammanvävd och motsägelsefull’, published in Aftonbladet, 12 January 2020):

When Meta Isæus-Berlin exhibits at Waldemarsudde, she is described as one of the country’s most important installation artists. And there is something in that. [...] Isæus-Berlin has an urgent message that existence is complex, interwoven, contradictory. Life is not only what is lived, but also what we tell or retell about our lives while living them.

Isæus-Berlin’s works often feature surreal elements within familiar scenes, exploring the complexities of human emotions and experiences. The transition from installation art to painting allowed Isæus-Berlin to delve deeper into these themes, presenting faceless figures and surreal landscapes that evokes a sense of otherworldliness. Her mastery of colour and composition draws the viewer into a captivating world where reality and imagination interact. Monica Nieckels (born 1946, Swedish freelance curator and retired curator at Moderna Museet, Stockholm) wrote (in What the memory Selects and the Dream Sees, 2008):

Meta Isæus-Berlin has since she graduated from the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm, been known as an artist with a masterly control of the art form of installation. In piece after piece she has demonstrated her expert skill and power by staging objects that, taken together, have created breathtaking images. They are many by now, and we remember them with gratitude and troubled minds – works that have been shown at the Venice and Istanbul biennials, in South Africa, Australia and in Sweden. Since the large mid-career retrospective at Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm, in the spring of 2006 painting had replaced installation as the chosen form of expression. On canvas after canvas the colours flow and the stories seems endless. Now we get to see the people who perhaps populated the spaces of her installations, or maybe it is a completely different side of the story that has taken centre stage.

Nieckels refers to another of Isæus-Berlin’s remarkable solo exhibitions, Fickla vrårna (8 April - 28 May 2006), which drew large crowds to Liljevalchs Public Art Gallery in Stockholm.In connection with the exhibition, Isæus-Berlin commented on her conscious choice to shift artistic focus from installations to painting, in an interview with Sara Ullberg (Barometern OT, 18 April 2006):

You have made a name for yourself working on large installations. Why did you return to painting, where you once started? - ‘I got tired of working with sculpture. I stopped painting once because I felt I had nothing to say in my painting. But now I think I have a lot to say. I express myself more easily with pictures than with sculpture now.’ […] On paper, it may seem a long way from the stripped-down installations where the human presence is only hinted at, to the colourful paintings she has created in recent years. Here, people are palpably present, and a sensual feeling is conveyed. But for Meta Isaeus-Berlin, the gap between the two means of expression is not an essential difference. - ‘I think it’s clear that it’s the same brain that has thought up all these works. That it's the same feelings. There is no difference, is the answer. All this was there when I made the installations too, I just haven’t shown it.’

Meta Isæus-Berlin currently combines installation art with painting and sculpture. She has represented Sweden in several international exhibitions, including the 47th Venice Biennale (1997) and the 5th International Istanbul Biennial (1997). Her exhibitions continue to captivate audiences, showcasing her evolving visual language and reinforcing her status as a significant figure in contemporary art.

Isæus-Berlin’s succesful artistic practice rests on a long, and thorough, education at the following institutions: Konstskolan, Stockholm (1980-1981); Pernby Målarskola, Stockholm (1981-1983);Handarbetets Vänner (The Friend’s of Handicraft), Stockholm (1984); Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, Stockholm (1984-1986) and the Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm (1986-1993). Isæus-Berlin has also served as visiting teacher at Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, Stockholm (1998-1999);acting professor at the Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm (2003) and member of the board of Moderna Museet, Stockholm (2002 - 2008).

Isæus-Berlin has participated in an impressive number of group exhibitions like: Plåtstaden Lugnet, Moderna Museet, Stockholm (1992); Spegling – Nyförvärv från 90-talet, Moderna Museet, Stockholm (1993); Invasion, Millesgården, Stockholm (1993); Det dubbla arvet, Hallwylska Museet, Stockholm (1994); Africus: Black Looks White Myths, Johannesburg Biennale, Johannesburg, South Africa (1995); La Hora del Norte, Centro Culturel del Condo Duque, Madrid & Museo Diocesano, Pia Almoina, Barcelona, Spain (1995); På : Tiden, Moderna Museet, Stockholm (1996); Container 96 – Art Across Oceans, Copenhagen (1996); S H E L T E R Wolfslaar, Breda, The Netherlands (1996); See What It Feels Like, Rooseum, Malmö, Sweden (1996); Avesta Art, Verket, Avesta, Sweden(1997); Deposition – Contemporary Swedish Art In Venice, Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy (1997); God Bless Our Mobile Home, Gallery Amfilada, Szczelin; Gallery Wyspa, Gdansk & Gallery BWA, Slupsk, Poland (1997); On Life, Beauty, Translations and Other Difficulties, 5th International Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, Turkey (1997); [UME:SE], Umedalen Skulptur, Umeå, Sweden (1998); Kiasma Collection, Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki (1998); Skandia Via, Kunstraum, Düsseldorf, Germany (1998); Mot en lyckligare mänsklighet, Arbetets Museum, Norrköping, Sweden (1999); Malmö Konstmuseum besöker Magasinet Wanås, Knislinge, Sweden (1999); Signs of Life, Melbourne International Biennial, Melbourne, Australia (1999); The Flying Moose- Konst och design, Konstnärshuset, Stockholm (2000); Home Again. Works by Contemporary Swedish Artists, Arken Museum for Moderne Kunst, Ishøj, Denmark (2002); Skönhetens Metamorfoser, Dunkers Kulturhus, Helsingborg, Sweden (2002); ©EUROPE EXISTS, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, Greece (2003); Samlingarna – Samtidskonsten i fokus, Dunkers Kulturhus, Helsingborg, Sweden (2003); Drömdiken, Skissernas Museum, Lund, Sweden (2006); Highlights, Uppsala Art Museum, Uppsala, Sweden (2008); Önskekonst 2009, Länsmuseet Gävleborg, Gävle, Sweden (2009); Coeur de Femme, Galerie Sophie Scheidecker, Paris (2009); It’s a Setup, Kiasma, Helsingfors (2010); Miscellaneous, The Art Miami Pavilion, Miami, U.S.A. (2011); (7) Stipendiater, Sven-Harrys Konstmuseum, Stockholm (2011); Hong Kong Artfair, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong (2012); Ytspänning – En utställning om dopet i vår tid Åmells, Katarina church, Hedvig Eleonora church, Sjöstaden chapel & Flemingsberg church (2012); Participation in Georgian-German Society, National Museum in Tbilisi, Georgia (2012); Ett riktigt hem – En replik på en replik, Sven-Harrys Konstmuseum, Stockholm (2012); Borås International Sculpture Biennial 2014, Borås, Sweden (2014); Hem Längtan Vardagens ideologi och Estetik, Norrköping Museum of Art, Norrköping, Sweden (2014); I ♥ IT! WHAT IS IT?, Galleri 5 Kulturhuset, Stockholm (2014); Avesta Art 2015, Verket, Avesta, Sweden (2015); Kyrkor och konstnärer i sjätte sinnet, Hällefors kyrka, Hällefors, Sweden (2016); Women don’t paint very well, HangmenProjects, Stockholm (2016); Sliperiet, Borgvik, Sweden (2017); Fabric Works, Galleri Andersson/Sandström, Stockholm (2017); DOG, Company Gallery, New York, U.S.A. (2021); UPCLOSE, CFHILL, Stockholm (2021); 1100 DEGREES. From Constantinople to Cyborg futurism — A story in bronze, CFHILL, Stockholm (2021); HEM, Malmö Art Museum, Malmö, Sweden (2022); Dreams and Illusions, Alma Löv Museum, Sweden (2022) and In i mörkret – ut i ljuset, Uppsala Stadsteater, Uppsala, Sweden (2022).

Isæus-Berlin’s array of solo exhibitions is equally impressive, as the following list makes clear: Galleri Mejan, Stockholm (1993); Galleri Mors Mössa, Gothenburg, Sweden (1995); Nothing in Exchange, Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Stockholm (1996); Vad jag minns att jag minns, SAK Sveriges Allmänna Konstförening, Stockholm (2001); Vad Minnet Väljer, Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Stockholm (2001); Ett Vattenhem,’Bo-01 City of Tomorrow’, European Housing Expo, Malmö, Sweden (2001); Två Parallella Nu, Olle Olsson-huset Hagalund, Solna, Sweden (2003); På Glid, Jönköpings Länsmuseum, Jönköping, Sweden (2004); Short Moments, Art Basel Miami Beach, Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Miami, U.S.A. (2006); Fickla Vrårna, Liljevalchs Public Art Gallery, Stockholm (2006); Imprinting and Filtering, Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Stockholm (2008); Coeur de Femme, Galerie Sophie Scheidecker, Paris (2009); Inside Out, Outside In, Baukunst Galerie, Cologne, Germany (2009); The Waiting Maria, Katarina Church, Stockholm (2010); Lumière du Nord, with works by Emil Nolde and Edvard Munch, Galerie Sophie Scheidecker, Paris (2010); Små och stora historier, Vargåkra gård, Hammenhög, Sweden (2010); Orfeus, Galleri Andersson/Sandström, Umeå, Sweden (2010); Reminiscenser, Galleri Andersson/Sandström, Stockholm (2010); Lockrop och dess efterskalv, Olle Nymans ateljé, Saltsjö-Duvnäs, Sweden (2011); Moon Dreams, Baukunst Galerie, Cologne, Germany (2011); Upp till ytan – Retrospektiv 1980 – 2012, Passagen, Linköping, Sweden & Bohusläns museum, Uddevalla, Sweden (2012); Smygkuvning, Thielska Galleriet, Stockholm (2012); I drömmen finns ingen tid, Galleri Andersson/Sandström, Umeå, Sweden (2013); Sandcastle for Grown-ups, Mare gallery, Chania, Crete, Grecce (2013); Undervegetationen gör sig påmind, Galleri Andersson/Sandström, Stockholm (2015); Mörkersyn, Bror Hjorts Hus, Uppsala, Sweden (2016); Double Gaze, L&B Contemporary Art, Barcelona, Spain (2017); Sömngångerskan/Sleepwalker, Borås Konstmuseum, Borås, Sweden (2018);Nattlogik/Nocturnal Logic, Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, Stockholm (2019); Återsken, CFHILL, Stockholm (2021); Vit Natt, Galleri Arnstedt, Östra Karup, Båstad, Sweden (2021); As I See It, CFHILL, Stockholm (2023) and The Philosopher, Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art, Vaasa, Finland (2024 - 2025).

Isæus-Berlin is represented in the following (selected) collections: Dunkers Kulturhus, Helsingborg, Sweden; Gothenburg Museum of Art, Gothenburg, Sweden; Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki; Jönköpings läns museum, Jönköping, Sweden; Magasin 3 Stockholm Exhibition Hall, Stockholm; Malmö Art Museum, Malmö, Sweden; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Norrköping Art Museum, Norrköping, Sweden; Public Art Agency, Sweden; Umedalen Skulptur, Umeå, Sweden; Uppsala Art Museum, Uppsala, Sweden and County Museum of Gävleborg, Gävle, Sweden.

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