Heini Svartengren – Between light and movement
Artist Heini Svartengren, 48, grew up in Skåne, but has roots in Finland. Today she lives in Malmö with her son and her dog. During her artistic career, she has had around 30 exhibitions in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Falsterbo, Malmö and Milan, among others.
– My mother set up an easel and oil paints in front of me when I was nine years old, and ever since then I have loved painting.
What distinguishes your art?
– I work primarily with contemporary abstract art in acrylic, where music, emotions, and light play a central role in my creation. Like many artists, I draw inspiration from the world around me and our own place in it. My paintings are intuitive and energetic, often in large formats, where color and movement take their place. They are often characterized by vertical movements that create a sense of space and depth, along with some structure.
At the same time, I periodically return to nature-inspired motifs. Among other things, I have a particular Monet-inspired period that I continually develop and return to. My artistic career consists of different periods where I constantly renew my expression.
I strive to create depth and a sense of presence in my works, a timelessness. Some paintings carry clear messages; others function more like a visual diary – a still image of a time and a feeling.
I often use metallic colors, which sometimes give the paintings a three-dimensional feel. My signature color is Prussian blue, often combined with gold details.
I got much of my early inspiration from traveling in Europe with my family, visiting cathedrals and museums. That's probably where the gold details in my art come from. The combination of the culture and light of the Mediterranean and the Nordics inspires me.
Art has become a part of me. It is a source of energy where I find peace and recovery. In 2018, I had a strong aha-experience in my artistry that changed how I see both my own and others' drive and passion. Time and space disappeared. Inspiration became a constant flow. I found time for myself in a new way and explored what brought my soul joy. It became an important step in my development.
In 1997, Heini moved to Málaga to study Spanish. She lived in Plaza de la Merced, opposite the house where Pablo Picasso lived as a child.
– It was a very special and inspiring time. It felt natural to paint there. The light in Málaga was something very special.
Heini is currently exhibiting at My Yoga Room at Linnégatan 26 in Limhamn in Malmö, where the exhibition runs until the end of the summer.
On September 25–27, she will participate in the Gallery Weekend in Malmö. In connection with this, she has organized a pop-up exhibition at the Elite Plaza Hotel, in central Malmö. It will be a group exhibition together with seven other artists.
Several of her works are created to order for private homes. In parallel, she is also working on developing a design project where her art is given new life on breakfast trays and cutting boards.
More about Heini Svartengren at heiniart.com