Joanna Hellgren

Joanna Hellgren tells stories in pictures – with flowing gouache or simple strokes, she conjures up her images on paper, often accompanied by text and published in book form. Her title might be illustrator, but Joanna Hellgren is much more than that. Her images claim their space and become more than just illustrations. Alongside her work with books, she creates independent images, often drypoint, which she hand prints herself in her studio.

Joanna Hellgren, born 1981, is educated at Konstfack and Academie Penninghen in Paris, graduating in 2004. She has won numerous awards; the illustrated novels trilogy Frances was awarded both the Urhundenplaketten (2010) and the Heffaklumpen (2012) when it was published in Swedish. She has been awarded Snöbollen – årets svenska bilderbok (2015) and nominated for the Augustpriset three times.