Lotta Antonsson: West Coast / West Coast

Lotta Antonsson belongs to a generation of Swedish artists who emerged in the 1990s, inspired by post-structuralist theory and art exploring new media as it pertains to identity formation. For nearly three decades, her work has questioned the objectification of women with irony and self-distance. At the heart of this project has been her exploration and exploitation of lens-based images disseminated via printed matter. In particular, Antonsson’s work reflects her fascination with the late 1960s and 1970s, in a style where documentary and fiction blur in a merging of social and sexual revolutions.

Antonsson lives and works in Falkenberg, Sweden and has for the past two decades also had a studio in Berlin, Germany. Since her first visit to North America in 1993, Antonsson has been fascinated with both the natural and cultural landscape of North America’s West Coast. In 1998, she had her first solo exhibition in Vancouver at Trylowsky Gallery. For the past two decades, Antonsson has maintained a deep relationship with both the West Coast of British Columbia and her native West Coast of Sweden.

For this exhibition, Antonsson will assemble a collection of images and objects from her studio that will function as pretext for her research into local archives and the shoreline of Vancouver. The exhibition title, West Coast / West Coast, is a literal reference to the artist’s research sites, but also evokes East Coast / West Coast, the title of a work by Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt produced in 1969, just prior to their arrival in Vancouver.

Read the catalogue produced in 2024 that expands upon the exhibition West Coast / West Coast.

The exhibition has been made possible with the generous support of the Swedish Arts Grants Committee and sponsorship by The Lab, Vancouver. Special thanks to Brad Chernoff for his support as well.

Please note: this exhibition is not wheelchair accessible.