Gerry Johansson Explained

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 ^[5] and the Lars Tunbjörk Prize.^[6]

Life and work

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."^[8] "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

Johansson is married to Ann Jansson, who makes ceramic art.^[9] They live in, near to Höganäs in Skåne County, southern Sweden.^{[10] [11]}

Publications

Books of work by Johansson

• Fotografier 1976–80. Self-published, 1980.^[4] Catalogue of an exhibition at Galleri 1+1. Edition of 1000 copies.^[12]
• 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.^[13]
• Betong. 1992.
• Amerika = America. 1998. Edition of 1200 copies.
• Sverige = Sweden. Stockholm: Byggförlaget, 2005. . 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. . 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. . Edition of 1000 copies.
• God Jul och Gott Nytt År önskar Ann och Gerry. 2011.
• Deutschland = Germany. London: Mack, 2012. . 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. . 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. . Edition of 2500 copies.^[14]
• Halland. Johansson & Jansson, 2019.
• Borås. Johansson & Jansson, 2019.
• Meloni Meloni. Self-published, 2020. . Edition of 750 copies. With texts in English, Italian and Swedish.^[15]
• Ehime. Tokyo: T&M, 2020. . Edition of 800 copies.
• Lalendof und Klaber. Johansson & Jansson, 2020.
• At Home in Sweden, Germany and America. Sweden: Tira, 2020. .

Books of work with others

• 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. . 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. . With text, Rössl in conversation with Guidi and Johansson. Two volumes. In Italian and English. Photographs made around Castelfranco Veneto, Italy.

Awards

• 2011:, Skåne Regional Council, Skåne County, Sweden^[5]
• 2019: Lars Tunbjörk Prize, Tore G Wärenstam Foundation, Borås, Sweden^[6]
• 2020: Höganäs Municipality's cultural award, Skåne County, Sweden^[16]

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

• Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden, 1982^[4]
• Odd weeks, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden, 2003^[17]
• Moment, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden, 2012/2013^[18]

Group exhibitions

• Framed Landscapes: European Photography Commissions 1984–2019,, Madrid, Spain, 2019, part of PhotoEspaña^[19]

Collections

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

• Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden: over 40 photographs (as of January 2019)^[4]

External links

• • "Q & A with Gerry Johansson" by Blake Andrews
• "A Walk with Gerry Johansson" interview with Jörg Colberg
• Some of Johansson's books described by Josef Chladek

Notes and References

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