MIKAEL LO PRESTI

Mikael Lo Presti was born in Sodra Sandby, Sweden in 1989. He lives and works in Stockholm. 

5. A remarkable number of your paintings contain hands. They are like small sculptures - whether they are carefully leafing through a book, gift wrapping a heart or dropping a lemon. What is it about hands that you find fascinating? What makes them interesting from a painterly point of view?

I am not interested in making portraits of specific people. Hands is one way of adding human precense to the paintings. They can also guide how you perceive a painting. Sometimes I feel as if they are my own hands, other times they are more like background actors. I like that you see them as little sculptures!

7. How do you foresee your artistic project continuing to develop?

There is no clear answer to this. I am in the studio every day, painting or just sitting around reading, drawing etc. Trying things out and experimenting is a big part of the process, and moments when something unexpected happens is when I feel that my work can potentially move forward. In between projects I try to go traveling for some days. That is an important habit for me, and keeps me from getting stuck in any particular method of working. However, there is no grand plan in how I want my paintings to look or be in the future; I believe that my pure interest in making work will result in pushing my project forward.

Interview questions from One Plus One, 2020

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