Finnish contemporary artist Egs is one of the most successful of his generation. As one of the first clearly graffiti-rooted artists in Scandinavia Egs had a major solo show in Helsinki’s Kunsthalle in 2018. In the spring of 2020 he will be exhibited at The Finnish Glass Museum.
Egs works in his own universe, grounded in the use of the three letters in his name only. Whether it’s his dynamic ink drawings or the slower but even more hard-to-control media of glass, those three letters is the funda- ment of his art and the stories he tells.
While showing works in museums and galleries internationally, Egs still keeps painting graffiti on the streets around the world. He has become an important figure in the international graffiti community. Both for the quality of his work, but also for an intellectual vibe that goes like a red thread through all of his work.
In Writing Stories with Three Letters, author Tobias Barenthin Lindblad discuss Egs’ practice in both studio and the streets. Their conversation covers topics directly connected to the artwork that is depicted in the book, but also about the deeper meanings and driving forces of being an artist. How does one bring the energy from painting in the street into a studio? How can you bring the uncertainty in making glass into painting graffiti in the street? How do a painting in an abandoned Finnish factory and a glass sculpture in a gallery communicate? Is an artist measured by a single art work or by his or her body of work? And last but not least: can a word without meaning have a message?
"Writing Stories with Three Letters goes deep into the art, creativity and theories of one of the most exciting contemporary artists from Scandinavia.
With one leg in classic graffiti and the other in fine art, Egs represents the perfect symbiosis of both worlds. He has taken the long road and the authen- ticity that radiates from his works is unmistakable."
– Tony Rubin Sjöman
"Egs has grown from a graffiti adventurer to a multi-disciplinary artist whose work breaks convention and delivers beauty in the most unexpected ways."
– Alan Ket
"Egs artwork is a form of trespassing into the contemporary artworld. Whether painting, sculpting or using glass, his work is seemingly a mix of modernistic tradition with graffiti. His understanding of the do’s and don’ts in the artworld makes a force to be reckoned with."
– Jan Förster, Director of the Kunsthalle in Helsinki
