Emma Jönsson (b. 1961, Katrineholm, Sweden) is an artist based in Floda, Södermanland. Her textile embroideries evoke a form of narrative painting, where the interaction between color palette and material becomes part of the storytelling. The works are often made on carefully selected velvet that functions as the canvas. Sometimes it is left as is; at other times it is dyed and altered by the artist herself. Through delicate stitching, a constellation of symbols flows across the velvet. Jönsson depicts people, animals, plants, architecture, and nature in unusual contexts. Her visual language draws on traditions of surrealism, magical realism, and fantasy.

The scenes in her works reveal a personal perspective on events occurring both in the world at large and in private life. There is a clear emotional engagement with other people’s experiences and conditions that connects Emma Jönsson to an art historical legacy. The Norwegian-Swedish textile artist Hannah Ryggen used her artistic practice to understand and illuminate the tragedies and hardships of the surrounding world. In complex and detailed tapestries, she offered her perspective and commentary on the fascist currents of the 1930s. With a similar sensitivity, Jönsson creates images of tragedy and injustice through visual storytelling. At the same time as she invites reflection and confrontation, the viewer is also drawn into visual narratives where water can be heard flowing, birds singing, and light breaking through the darkness of night.

Emma Jönsson received an MFA from HDK-Valand in Gothenburg in 1998. Her most recent solo exhibition, Waiting at Saskia Neuman Gallery in 2023, was met with strong engagement and reception from both audiences and the daily press. Her work is represented in several public collections, including Stockholm Konst, Örebro Municipality, and the Firestorm Foundation. This is Emma Jönssons second solo exhibition at the gallery