Biography / Cv
Lise Johansson (b.1985) is a visual artist and photographer based in Copenhagen.
Johansson studied portrait- and commercial photography from 2012-2016 at Media College Viborg and analogue and fine art photography in 2010 at Vera, School of Art and Design, Copenhagen. As a part of her education she did a four years apprenticeship at the National Museum of Denmark in the Department of Conservation and Restoration. Alongside her artistic practice she is currently studying Art History at Copenhagen University.
Between college and photography school Johansson lived in Paris for several years. She also traveled the world extensively as part of her photographic journey. During her travels she spent time in Russia, Japan, Mongolia and China. Her time abroad has influenced her work in many aspects. The events that happened during this period in her life have not only shaped her as a person but bring out the personal character in her images.
The starting point for Johansson’s artistic practice is to create a sense of a distorted reality, where the inspiration for this comes from the borderland that exists between the conscious and the unconscious. ‘The unseen’ takes place in the familiar, and locates itself in the field that blurs the line between reality and fantasy.
Johansson works around the themes of identity and belonging. The images often take departure from physical miniatures of landscapes and architectural spaces, combined with textures and objects photographed to use as building blocks in post processing.
Johansson is interested in people’s shared or individual feelings for the spaces or places they inhabit. Why do we feel that we belong in some places and not in others? Place and identity are closely bound together and people often strongly identify with the places they live in. Their environments shape who they are, and the bonds between person and place can influence culture, politics and social life.
Her work has been exhibited worldwide in i.a. London, Paris, Copenhagen and New York and many more. In 2017 she received two awards at the acclaimed Sony World Photography Awards and most recently she won the title ‘Photographer of the Year 2020’ in the International Color Awards and 1st Place in Int’l Photography Awards 2021 in the category Fine Art / Other.
Exhibitions
Upcoming
2023 I September 21, ‘Through Her Lens’, In The Gallery, Dronningens Tværgade 19, Copenhagen
Past
2023 I Image Nation, SOHO Photo Gallery, 15 White Street, New York
2023 I In the Gallery, group exhibition
2022 I ‘Counterparts’ – PORTRAITS – Hellerau Photography Awards. Den Technischen Sammlungen, Dresden
2022 I Artsy ‘Lise Johansson – I’m not here’ (online exhibition)
2022 I ‘Winter Light’, In The Gallery, Dronningens Tværgade 19, Copenhagen
2022 I 6th Biennial of Fine Art & Documentary Photography FotoNostrum, Barcelona
2021 I DER GREIF / Guest-room curated by Anika Meier (online exhibition)
2021 I Summer Light – In The Gallery, Copenhagen
2021 I ImageNation, Luciana Fondazione Matalon, Milan
2021 I Art on Paper – In The Gallery, Copenhagen
2019 I Image Nation – Paris Photo Off, Paris
2019 I Self-Staged / Selv-Iscenesat, Copenhagen
2019 I Home/Away, Gallery Anders Breiner, Copenhagen
2018 I ‘Winter Light’, In The Gallery
2018 I ‘Image Nation’, Galerie Joseph Turenne, Paris
2018 I ‘Award Winners’, In The Gallery, Copenhagen
2018 I ‘Composite Structures’, In The Gallery, Copenhagen
2017 I Salon de la Photo, Paris, France
2017 I Reggia di Monza, Milan, Italy
2017 I Sony Imaging Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2017 I Ginza Milan, Italy.
2017 I Bucharest Photo Fest, Romania.
2017 I Galerie GADCOLLECTION, Paris, France
2017 I Brussels Expo, Palais 4, Brussels, Belgium
2017 I Palazzo Trigon, Enna, Italy,
2017 I Sony Square NYC, New York, USA
2017 I Sony World Photography Awards & Martin Parr, Sumerset House, London
2016 I SVEND, UngK, Aarhus, Denmark
2015 I Mørke Dage, Lindholm Brygge 9, Aalborg, Denmark
2015 I Tomrummet, Aalborg, Denmark
2015 I Surreal Art, Byens Rum, Aalborg, Denmark
2015 I Mørke Dage Pre-event, Byens Rum, Aalborg, Denmark
2012 I Det Personlige Fotografi, Central Station, Aarhus, Denmark
2010 I Minimalismo, Centro Fotográfico, Oaxaca, Mexico
2010 I Vera, Copenhagen, Denmark
Art Fairs
2023 I ZONAMACO México – Arte Contemporáneo
2022 I ART MIAMI Art Fair
2022 I Enter Art Fair. In The Gallery
Tunnelfabrikken, Oceanvej 1, 2150 Nordhavn, Copenhagen
Awards & Honors
2022 I ‘Counterparts’ – PORTRAITS – Hellerau Photography Awards – Finalist
2021 I IPA – Int’l Photography Awards – 1st Place, Fine Art / Other
2020 I IPA – Int’l Photography Awards – Honorable Mention, Fine Art, Other, Absence
2020 I International Color Awards, Photographer of the Year – Outstanding Achievement, Absence
2020 I International Color Awards, 1st Place – Outstanding Achievement Fine Art, Absence
2020 I Julia Margaret Cameron Awards, Nominee Fine Art Category, Absence
2019 I International Color Awards, Nominee Fine Art Category, Lighthouse
2018 I FAPA Fine Art Photography Awards, Nominee conceptual category
2018 I International Color Awards, Nominee Fine Art ‘wipe – out’
2017 I Felix Schoeller Photo Award, shortlist, category Free Choice/Conceptual, ‘Hearth’
2017 I Sony World Photography Awards, 1st place winner of the National Award Denmark , ‘Hearth’
2017 I Sony World Photography Awards, 1st place winner of Enhanced category, Open ‘Hearth’
2017 I Monochrome Awards, Honorable Mention in conceptual category ‘Sehnsucht’
2016 I Winner of the Hasselblad Student Award, exhibition SVEND
2016 I FAPA Fine Art Photography Awards, 2nd place winner in conceptual category ‘Sehnsucht’
Selected Features & Publications
2022 I Aesthetica Magazine, Distorted Reality by Eleanor Sutherland. New Artists, May 2022
2022 I ‘Counterparts’ – PORTRAITS – Hellerau Photography Awards. Exhibition Catalog, Den Technischen Sammlungen, Dresden
2022 I Barcelona Foto Biennale, FotoNostrum, The Meditteanean House of Photography 2022
2022 I Aesthetica Magazine Artist Directory, Issue 105, February/March Issue 2022
2021 I Identity, Place & Belonging, Foto Nostrum Magazine, Issue no. 18, August 5th 2021
2021 I Self-portraits; I’m not here by Lise Johansson, Dodho Magazine
2020 I 13th Winners Book, Absence, International Color Awards
2020 I Grafik & Foto Årbog 2018/19, published January 2020 by Grafik & Foto
2019 I Selv-Iscenesat, exhibition catalogue, Teatermuseet, Forlaget Franka, 2019
2018 I In Vacuo by Lise Johansson, Dodho Magazine
2017 I Annual Book Monochrome Awards
2017 I Feature for International Women’s Day, World Photography Organisation
2016 I Hearth, Art People Gallery
2016 I Hearth, Dodho Magazine
2016 I Sehnsucht, The Creators Project, Vice
2016 I Sehnsucht/Fractures, Art People Gallery
2015 I Lise Johansson Photography, Dodho Magazine
Education
2019-2022 I University of Copenhagen. Bachelor in Art History
2012-2016 I Medieskolerne Viborg, Photography
2012-2016 I The National Museum of Copenhagen Apprenticeship with Roberto Fortuna
2010 I Vera – School of Art and Design, Fine Art Photography
2006 I Grundtvig Højskole