Johan Andersson

Who is Johan Andersson?

Johan Andersson is a Swedish painter. He moved to England in 1995 and went on to study at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, earning a BA Fine Art in 2008 and currently lives in Venice, Los Angeles with a secondary studio in South Bermondsey, London. He has been known to cite Gerhard Richter as one of his artistic influences.

In 2007 Andersson became the youngest ever artist to be shortlisted for the BP Portrait Award, winning third prize for his painting Tamara., which was viewed by over 195,000 people. The representational simplicity of his early work has been compared to recent works by Alex Katz.

Andersson is also a winner of the Jerwood Foundation Contemporary Painters Prize; his winning piece Kate has since sold on the secondary market for "in excess of £40,000" in a deal involving Eugene Tenenbaum. Following his early critical acclaim, Andersson has exhibited in six countries, at two major art fairs and in three museums including the Victoria and Albert Museum.

In late July 2011 Andersson received a posthumous public commission to paint Amy Winehouse, which incorporated subtle use of spray paints.