Elisabeth Frieberg’s work draws inspiration from nature and the landscapes she has inhabited and experienced. Although not following a tradition of accurate representation, she is a realist in colour, using the exact tones she finds in nature, making sample cards and mixing on site during plein-air sessions. She foregoes painting from memory or photographs, achieving through her process a precise representation of the atmosphere. While the colours are absolutely faithful to their source, they simultaneously carry symbolic meaning. Frieberg’s impressions of nature merge with personal encounters and memories thereby investing the colours with a dual charge. Grillskär, Grebe, Violetbears its sources of inspiration in the title. Grillskär, Frieberg’s family island outside Roslagen; Grebe, the aquatic bird often spotted in the waters around Grillskär; and Violet, one of the most prominent colours in the work, also serving as a reference to the flower liverleaf, a sign of spring.

Elisabeth Frieberg (b. 1977), currently lives and works in Stockholm. Recently she has had solo exhibitions at KEWENIG, Berlin, Germany (2023, 2020), Palma de Mallorca, Spain (2018), Haninge Konsthall, Haninge, Sweden (2021), Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Paris, France (2021) and Stockholm, Sweden (2018), Magasin III Museum for Contemporary Art, Stockholm, Sweden (2017), and Index – The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden (2016). Frieberg has participated in group shows at Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm (2020), 8.Salon, Hamburg, Germany (2018), Galerie Die Schöne, Vienna, Austria (2016), and Konstnärshuset, Stockholm, Sweden (2014). In 2023 she made a mural, part of the permanent collection of Stockholm School of Economics. Frieberg was the recipient of a two year working grant from The Swedish Arts Grants Committee (2022, 2016).