JOAKIM OJANEN: WELCOME TO MY SHOW!
CARL KOSTYÁL is delighted to present ‘Welcome to my show!’, the debut solo exhibition of Joakim Ojanen (b. 1985, Västerås, Sweden) with the gallery at Hospitalet, Stockholm.
October 24 – December 17, 2025
“Joakim Ojanen generous, unpretentious title for his exhibition is an invitation to his world. The vast gallery space of Hospitalet has been invaded by a motley crew of strange creatures. But despite their weird appearance, they still seem human. Especially if one by “human” mean “not perfect”. Ojanen’s work can inspire empathy, you may find yourself with maternal or paternal feelings towards the often sad-looking figures, even the smiling, perky and joyful figures are what society might label “sad-looking”, in the sense that they are slightly pathetic, to put it in a cruel way. Their cuteness is often commented. But they are also grotesque, as if from a dream, verging on a night-mare – or a bad trip. They are often hybrid beings, human and non-human animals, with tails that grow into vines ending in a pumpkin, they can also be part plant. They could almost be inhabitants of the famous triptych ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’, 1490 – 1500, by Hieronymus Bosch.
‘My inner beast is in charge now, feels ok’. As the title suggests, this is a self-portrait, (even if the artist has claimed almost all his characters are). A demon is riding the back of a boy, crouching under its weight. It looks like a dragon or some kind of lizard, with a wide gaping mouth, like a pink megaphone with many rows of sharp teeth. Trickles of gold is oozing out of its throat. Is this an image of the artist channelling his traumas and demons in the act of creating art?
Ojanen’s playful attitude and outlandish, comic figures make his work accessible and direct. But there are more layers to discover, and darker and melancholy sides to his art. Consider ‘Time keeps ticking, nothing gets better’, a little ceramic fellow with the corner of his mouth turned down, looking disappointed on the verge of tears. His hands are clasped over a clock that is placed over his chest.
Two huge figures stick out – one is standing on his (or its?) toes peeking over one of the temporary walls. He is standing on what looks like a boulder, that one can imagine him putting there to reach above the edge of the wall. The thin body and the funny little cap on the big head make it easy to assume it is a young boy. Perhaps also the lack of self-consciousness with which he is peeking over the edge. As one gets older, peeking is not a socially acceptable behaviour. Curiosity killed the cat, we are told. Yet, it is a good quality when looking at art.