Gerry Johansson (born 5 May 1945) is a Swedish photographer[1] who lives in Höganäs in southern Sweden.[2] He makes "straight and pragmatic" photographs with "an objective view of a geographic location."[3] His books include America, Sweden, Germany, Antarctic, Tokyo, and American Winter. His work is held in the collection of Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sweden,[4] where he has had solo exhibitions. He has been awarded the Region Skånes kulturpris [sv][5] and the Lars Tunbjörk Prize.[6]

Gerry Johansson
Gerry Johansson 2021
Born (1945-05-05) 5 May 1945 (age 79)
Örebro, Sweden
NationalitySwedish
OccupationPhotographer
Websitehttp://www.gerryjohansson.com/

Life and work

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Johansson was born in Örebro, Örebro County, Sweden and grew up in Varberg, Halland County, Sweden.[4] He started photographing at age 11 and began printing his own pictures at age 15.[4] After high school he lived with relatives in New Jersey, USA for a year.[4] He studied for a degree in graphic design at Konstindustriskolan in Gothenburg (now the School of Design and Crafts at the University of Gothenburg), between 1965 and 1969,[7] then worked for a photography magazine.[4] He worked for fifteen years as a graphic designer.[7] In 1972 he co-founded the publishing house Fyra Förläggare, specialising in photography magazines and photobooks, usually with work by Swedish documentary photographers.[4] In 1985 he left Fyra Förläggare to work as an independent photographer.[4][7]

Johansson makes "straight and pragmatic" photographs with "an objective view of a geographic location."[3] "Almost all of his 31 photobooks are defined by their geography, if not the subject matter, and their equally-sized photographs are generally organised either alphabetically or chronologically, a bid to encourage readers to interpret them individually."[4] He predominantly uses black and white film, which he develops and prints himself.[4] His favourite camera is a Rolleiflex.[4]

Johansson's book American Winter (2018) was made in the mid-western states of the USA—Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado—in 2017/2018, over two three-week trips.[4]

Personal life

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Johansson is married to Ann Jansson, who makes ceramic art.[8] They live in Strandbaden [sv], near to Höganäs in Skåne County, southern Sweden.[9][10]

Publications

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Books of work by Johansson

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  • Fotografier 1976–80. Self-published, 1980.[4] Catalogue of an exhibition at Galleri 1+1. Edition of 1000 copies.[11]
  • Halland. Fyra Förläggare, 1985.[4] Photographs from Halland, 1932 by C. G. Rosenberg, rephotographed between 1983 and 1985 by Johansson. Text by Jan Olsheden. Edition of 1500 copies.[12]
  • Betong. 1992.
  • Amerika = America. 1998. Edition of 1200 copies.
  • Sverige = Sweden. Stockholm: Byggförlaget, 2005. ISBN 9179882692. Photographs from Sweden between 1988 and 2005. Published to coincide with an exhibition at Fotografins Hus in Stockholm.
    • Stockholm: Byggförlaget, 2009. Edition of 100 copies.
  • Kvidinge. Höganäs, Sweden: Johansson and Jansson, 2007. ISBN 978-9-19763-261-4. Edition of 450 copies.
  • Fyrbodal. 2007.
  • Ulan Bator. Stockholm: Gun Gallery, 2009. Edition of 400 copies.
  • Dalen. Stockholm: Libraryman, 2010. Edition of 300 copies.
  • Pontiac. London: Mack, 2011. ISBN 978-1907946097. Edition of 1000 copies.
  • God Jul och Gott Nytt År önskar Ann och Gerry. 2011.
  • Deutschland = Germany. London: Mack, 2012. ISBN 978-1907946356. Edition of 1200 copies.
  • Öglunda. Stockholm: Gun Gallery, 2012. Edition of 500 copies.
  • Hattfabriken/Luckenwalde. Johansson & Jansson, 2012. Edition of 1000 copies.
  • Antarktis = Antarctic. Stockholm: Libraryman, 2014. ISBN 978-9186269302. Edition of 700 copies. With a text by Thorbjörn Andersson in Swedish and English.
  • Tree Stone Water. Stockholm: Libraryman, 2015. Edition of 400 copies.
  • Tokyo. Berlin: Only Photography, 2016. With a text by Kamo no Chomei. Edition of 1200 copies.
  • Ravenna. Osservatorio Fotografico, 2016. Edition of 350 copies. Second edition of 300 copies.
  • Tyre Choice. Stockholm: Libraryman, 2017.
  • Supplement: Deutschland. Johansson & Jansson, 2018. Edition of 1000 copies.
  • Härryda Kommun. Johansson & Jansson, 2018.
  • America Revised. Berlin: Only Photography, 2018. A collection of over 50 years of his work on the continent.[4]
  • American Winter. London: Mack, 2018. ISBN 9781912339235. Edition of 2500 copies.[13]
  • Halland. Johansson & Jansson, 2019.
  • Borås. Johansson & Jansson, 2019.
  • Meloni Meloni. Self-published, 2020. ISBN 9789198500738. Edition of 750 copies. With texts in English, Italian and Swedish.[14]
  • Ehime. Tokyo: T&M, 2020. ISBN 978-4-909442-14-7. Edition of 800 copies.
  • Lalendof und Klaber. Johansson & Jansson, 2020.
  • At Home in Sweden, Germany and America. Sweden: Tira, 2020. ISBN 9789198606805.

Books of work with others

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  • Från Skåne. Malmö, Sweden: Malmö Konsthall, 1992. With work by Dawid, Johansson and Ralph Nykvist. With a text by Jacques Werup. Catalogue of an exhibition
  • Trivia. 1992. With work by Johansson, Carl-Johan Malmberg and Gunnar Smoliansky. Photographs and texts from EKODOK 90. ISBN 91-86074-12-1. Published to coincide with an exhibition at Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden. Edition of 100 copies.
  • Verso Nord. Stuttgart: Hartmann, 2022. With Guido Guidi. Edited by Stefania Rössl and Massimo Sordi. ISBN 978-3-96070-080-7. With text, Rössl in conversation with Guidi and Johansson. Two volumes. In Italian and English. Photographs made around Castelfranco Veneto, Italy.

Awards

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Exhibitions

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Solo exhibitions

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Group exhibitions

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Collections

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Johansson's work is held in the following permanent collection:

References

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  1. ^ "Is Gerry Johansson the World's Most Antisocial Photographer?". Vice. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  2. ^ "Gerry Johansson". Grundemark Nilsson Gallery. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  3. ^ a b Both, Jarre. "American Winter". www.gupmagazine.com. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "American Winter by Gerry Johansson". British Journal of Photography. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  5. ^ a b "Gerry Johansson får Region Skånes kulturpris". Helsingborgs Dagblad. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  6. ^ a b "Höganäsfotografen Gerry Johansson får Lars Tunbjörkpriset". Helsingborgs Dagblad. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  7. ^ a b c "Featured photographers". Moderna Museet i Malmö. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  8. ^ "Bland keramikcylindrar och kameraobjektiv". Helsingborgs Dagblad. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  9. ^ "Keramik och foto på Höganäs museum". Helsingborgs Dagblad. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  10. ^ "Gerrys Tokyo: Tillbaka till framtiden". Helsingborgs Dagblad. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  11. ^ "Gerry Johansson. Fotografier". www.gerryjohansson.com. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  12. ^ "Gerry Johansson - Halland. Trettiotal och åttiotal. Fotografier av C.G.Rosenberg och Gerry Johansson., Fyra Förläggare, 1985, Helsingborg – josef chladek". josefchladek.com. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  13. ^ Feuerhelm, Brad (23 October 2018). "Gerry Johansson's American Winter: A Contemptible Season Dawns". American Suburb X. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  14. ^ Feuerhelm, Brad (17 August 2020). "Gerry Johansson's Meloni Meloni". American Suburb X. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  15. ^ "De blir kultur- och idrottspristagare i Höganäs". Helsingborgs Dagblad. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  16. ^ "Odd weeks: Gerry Johansson". Moderna Museet Stockholm. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  17. ^ "Moment – Gerry Johansson". Moderna Museet Stockholm. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  18. ^ "Capturing Europe's changing landscapes – in pictures". The Guardian. 30 July 2019. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
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