Amalia Bille | Ankarpunkt

We are pleased to present Amalia Bille’s third solo exhibition at the gallery, titled Ankarpunkt (Anchor Point). The opening reception is on Thursday October 2, 17.00—20.00

The exhibition features new ceramic sculptures and a series of ink paintings relating to the works shown at Market Art Fair earlier this year.

In these works, Bille returns to experiences from her childhood, from the Bohuslän archipelago and the sea—which, in turn, can be read as a metaphor for the subconscious or unknown. Seashells, barnacles, and other marine elements appear throughout the exhibition, emerging from and adorning Bille’s figures—like protective shells enveloping a vulnerable core.

The act of painting and drawing has always been central to Bille’s practice, even when publicly exhibited. The drawings and sculpture share a common ground: a painterly, tactile approach, often described as the artist’s hand. In both forms of expression, there is an attention to the surface, and a gaze that meets the viewer—at times sorrowful, at times consoling.

To accompany the exhibition, a new book on the artist is being published, in which Love Jönsson writes:

The heads are linked to the tradition of portraiture, even though they rarely depict specific individuals. The expression is sometimes naïve, but can also carry a sense of unease. There is often a sense of uncertainty in looking at them—it is usually difficult to determine the age of the figures, and at times even their gender. It is as though the figures are trying to break free from predetermined notions of what they should be. They often carry mysterious outgrowths or attributes, like beings from a dream that resists the logic of everyday life. Above all, however, they speak of emotion—wonder, curiosity, fatigue, and at times joy.

Amalia Bille (b. 1971) lives and works in Gothenburg. She is educated at Hovedskous Målarskola and HDK-Valand Academy of Art and Design in Gothenburg. Previous solo exhibitions include Galerie Wolfsen, Aalborg (2024), Berg Gallery, Stockholm (2022, 2018), The Glass Factory, Boda (2020), Alma Löv Museum of Unexp. Art, Sunne (2020), Mölndals Stadsmuseum x GIBCA Extended, Gothenburg (2019), Dalslands Konstmuseum, Upperud (2019), and Göteborgs Konsthall (2018). Additionally, her work has been exhibited at Borås Konstmuseum, Arkivhuset Smedjebacken, Rian Designmuseum, Falkenberg, Keramiskt Center, Höganäs, and Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm. Bille is represented in the collections of Borås Konstmuseum, Public Art Agency Sweden, Stockholm County Council, and Västra Götaland County Council, to name a few.