What Hides Behind Glossy Surfaces
With undeniable technical skill, Lovisa Sköld combines the everyday and the fabulous in her characteristic glossy oil paintings. As the 2026 festival artist, she has created a poster that, in the same spirit as this year's focus, explores the relationship between surface and truth.
Lovisa Sköld was born in Småland in 1985 but has lived in Gothenburg for the past twenty years. Her love of creating was sparked at HDK-Valand, where she earned her art teaching degree in 2011. Two years later she left the teaching profession to devote herself wholeheartedly to her art, and today she spends her working days in her studio near Stigbergstorget.
"It's something of a dream for me to get this assignment. I've lived in this city for quite a long time and been to many film festivals, so getting to create this image that will be seen around town and in the festival program feels incredibly special and honoring," says Lovisa Sköld.
In recent years, her hyperrealistic paintings have received considerable media attention and have been shown at exhibitions around Sweden as well as at Room57 Gallery in New York. Her artistic signature is glossy materials — often lacquer, sometimes metallic surfaces — which she captures with meticulous precision in folds, reflections, and contrasts. The glossy materials that characterize Lovisa Sköld's art are naturally a central element of the poster she has created for the festival, tying in with this year's focus, Focus: Truth.
"Almost all of my works contain glossy materials, which for me are a symbol of surface — something we choose to show our friends or on social media."
"The poster depicts an urban environment with a cinematic and slightly mysterious expression. The red coat is inspired by the classic color of cinema seats and serves as a visual lure — but if you look deeper, the imagery also raises questions," notes Lovisa Sköld.
"One question I carried with me while painting this piece is: what's really hiding behind this red, glossy coat? What we show isn't always the truth."
Text: Emil Schröder
Photo: Ola Kjelbye