David Magnusson
David Magnusson
David Magnusson (b. 1983) is an artist interested in exploring the complexity of photographic representation and the mechanisms which govern our perception. He studied at The Nordic School of Photography, Biskops-Arnö, and received an MFA in photography from Valand Academy at the University of Gothenburg. His work has been the subject of exhibitions in Sweden, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Georgia and Nigeria, as well as in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Boston, Bloomington, San Antonio and Houston in the United States.
In Purity (2010-2014), Magnusson portrayed young girls who with their their fathers had participated in Purity Ball-ceremonies in the United States, where the girls promise to remain abstinent until marriage. For Magnusson, this was a way to explore how our culture and our own experiences affect our perception of that which surrounds us. The monograph Purity was published by Max Ström in 2014 during the exhibition at Fotografiska, The Swedish Museum of Photography, in Stockholm, Sweden. It has received several awards including a nomination for the Swedish Photo Book Award and has been featured in international media such as TIME Magazine, The Guardian, i-D Magazine, BBC, Wall Street Journal, Der Spiegel and Liberation. In This Too Shall Pass (2015–2017), visual symbolism and authority, with roots in historical painting, are put to the test in a new digital reality. The result problematizes visual representation and the construction of history, specifically in relation to migration in Europe today.
In addition to his projects, Magnusson works as a freelance photographer with clients such as The New York Times, TIME Magazine, Financial Times, Save the Children, Der Spiegel, GEO and Svenska Dagbladet. Magnusson has received honors and awards from among others The Swedish Arts Committee, The Swedish Authors Fund, The Swedish Photobook Award, Picture of the Year International, Picture of the Year Sweden, Hyeres International Festival of Fashion and Photography, and the World Press Photo Masterclass. He lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden, and his works are represented by The Hasselblad Foundation, Gothenburg; The West Collection, Pennsylvania; The 21C Museum Collection, Kentucky; as well as in private collections.
MFA in Photography, Valand Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
The Nordic School of Photography, Biskops-Arnö, Sweden
Photography, Fridhems Folkhögskola, Svalöv, Sweden
2015–2017
2004–2007
2003–2004
2014
این نیز بگذرد (This Too Shall Pass) , SJCD, Västerbottens Museum, Umeå, Sweden
این نیز بگذرد (This Too Shall Pass) , Lagos Photo Festival, Lagos, Nigeria
این نیز بگذرد (This Too Shall Pass) , Galleri Monitor, Gothenburg, Sweden
Purity, Kungsbacka Konsthall, Kungsbacka, Sweden
Purity, Kolga Tbilisi Photo, Tbilisi, Georgia
Purity, Rick Wester Fine Art, New York, United States
Purity, Diffusion – Cardiff International Festival of Photography, Cardiff, United Kingdom
Purity, The Biel/Bienne Festival of Photography, Biel/Bienne, Switzerland
Purity, Paris Photo Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States (duo)
Purity, Flash Forward Festival, Boston, United States
Purity, Pictura Gallery, Bloomington, United States (duo)
Purity, Pulse Contemporary Art Fair, Miami Beach, United States
Purity, Kalmar Konstmuseum, Kalmar, Sweden
Purity, Kulturparken Småland, Smålands Museer, Växjö, Sweden
Purity, Fotografiska, The Swedish Museum of Photography, Stockholm, Sweden
Purity, Fotografins Rum, Malmö Museer, Malmö, Sweden
2022
2017
2015
2014
2013
Noorderlicht International Photo Festival: The Makable Mind, Heerenveen, The Netherlands
Corona Feeling, Galerie Koppelmann, Cologne, Germany
Published, Centrum för fotografi, Stockholm, Sweden
Self Reflection – Wer bist Du, Photoszene festival, Cologne, Germany
Published, Hasselblad Foundation, Gothenburg, Sweden
The Real World, Cinnabar Gallery, San Antonio, Texas, United States
Interstices, Landskrona Photo Festival, Landskrona, Sweden
Floating Point, Galleri Format, Malmö, Sweden
Lost in Space: Contemporary Photographers and The New Landscape,
Rick Wester Fine Art, New York, United States
Nuit Des Images (screening), Musée de l'Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland
Mehr Von Weniger/More of Less, Vögele Kultur Zentrum, Pfäffikon, Switzerland
30th International Festival of Fashion and Photography, Villa Noailles, Hyeres, France
Pictura Gallery, Pulse Contemporary Art Fair, New York, United States
Art in Proof: Culture and Community, 21c Museum, Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Dear Dave, Foley Gallery, New York, United States
Exposure, Format Photo Festival, Derby, United Kingdom
The Festival of Political Photography, The Finnish Museum of Photography, Finland
The Festival of Political Photography, Kontupiste Gallery, Finland
Pictura Gallery, Houston Fine Art Fair, Houston, United States
Framed III, Galleri Kontrast, Stockholm, Sweden
Planket 2014 – Angelägenheter, Stockholm, Sweden
Årets Bild, Galleri Kontrast, Stockholm, Sweden
Årets Bild, Neva Books, Rimforsa, Sweden
Planket, Vitabergsparken, Stockholm
Årets Bild, Fotografins Rum, Malmö, Sweden
Mitt Stockholm, Galleri Kontrast, Stockholm
The Amnesty Sweden Festival, Tellus, Stockholm
Planket, Vitabergsparken, Stockholm
Årets Bild, Touring exhibition, Sweden
Planket, Vitabergsparken, Stockholm
Berätta inte för någon, Galleri Kontrast, Stockholm
Berlin, Public Wall Exhibition, Lund
Rockfoto, Hultsfredsfestivalen, Hultsfred
2021
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2012
2010
2009
2008
2006
2004
2002
The Kavalla Grant, The Swedish Association of Professional Photographers, 2017
Landskrona Photo Festival Best Portfolio of the Year, Shortlisted, 2017
The Theodor and Hanne Mannheimer Fund, 2017
The Swedish Photo Book Award, Shortlisted, 2016
Adelbert Scholarship Foundation Travel Grant, 2016
30th International Festival of Fashion and Photography in Hyeres, Finalist, 2015
2014 Miami Beach Pulse Prize, Pulse Art Fair, Miami Beach, Shortlisted, United States, 2014
The Swedish Authors Fund, Working Grant, Sweden, 2014
Kassel Photobook Award 2014 – Best Books Of The Year, Germany, 2014
The Skövde Culture Grant, City of Skövde, Sweden, 2014
The Documentary Photography Award, The Museum of Work, Sweden, 2013
Portrait of the Year, Picture Of The Year, Sweden, 2012
The Scanpix Grant, Scanpix, Sweden, 2011
The Visual Arts Project Grant, The Swedish Arts Committee, Sweden, 2010
Award of Excellence, Magazine Feature Story, Picture Of The Year, USA, 2009
Award Winner, Portrait of the Year, Picture Of The Year, Sweden, 2009
World Press Photo Masterclass, World Press Photo, The Netherlands, 2008
Rockfoto, Hultsfredsfestivalen, Hultsfred, 2002
The Hasselblad Foundation, Gothenburg, Sweden
The West Collection, Oaks, Pennsylvania, United States
The 21c Museum Collection, Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Private Collections
Published: Photobooks in Sweden, Niclas Östlind, Art and Theory/Walther König, Sweden, 2018
Young Photography Now – Sweden, Annika von Hausswolff, Kalle Sanner & Niclas Östlind, Art and Theory, Sweden, 2017
30th International Festival of Fashion and Photography in Hyeres, France, 2015
Family Photography Now, S. Howarth & S. McLaren, Thames & Hudson, United Kingdom, 2015
Format 15 Evidence, Format International Photography Festival, United Kingdom, 2015
Planket 2014 – Angelägenheter, Planket, 2014
The Malmö Nordic Catalogue, Malmö Nordic, City of Malmö, 2013
Årets Bild 2012, Picture Of The Year Sweden, 2012
Planket Trettio År, Planket, 2012
Årets Bild 2011, Picture Of The Year Sweden, 2011
Planket 2010, Planket, 2010
Årets Bild 2009, Picture Of The Year Sweden, 2009
Balance, Joop Swart Masterclass, World Press Photo, 2008
Planket 2008, Planket, 2008
Berätta inte för någon, Kartago, 2006
European Photography, Germany, 2017
Voltaire, Germany, 2017
i-D Magazine, United States, 2015
Photograph Magazine, United States, 2015
The Independent, United Kingdom, 2015
Liberation, France, 2015
Los Angeles Times, United States, 2014
Huffington Post, United States, 2014
The Guardian, United Kingdom, 2014
Der Spiegel, Germany, 2014
The Daily Mail, United Kingdom, 2014
BBC, United Kingdom, 2014
Slate, United States, 2014
Buzzfeed, United States, 2014
La Repubblica, Italy, 2014
Photo-Eye, United States, 2014
Stern, Germany, 2014
Musée Magazine, United States, 2014
GUP Magazine, The Netherlands, 2014
Photonews, Germany, 2014
Der Fotobuch Salon, Germany, 2014
Wonderzine, Russia, 2014
Politiken, Denmark, 2014
The Dish, United States, 2014
Fast Co. Design, United States, 2014
Flavorwire, United States, 2014
Jezebel, United States, 2014
Refinery 29, United States, 2014
Feature Shoot, United States, 2014
Die Presse, Austria, 2014
7.7, Portugal, 2014
Beautiful Decay, United States, 2014
The Photographer Discloses, United States, 2014
FK Magazine, Latvia, 2014
Lenscratch, United States, 2014
Hotshoe, United Kingdom, 2014
TV4 Nyheterna, Sweden, 2014
Svenska Dagbladet, Sweden, 2014
Kulturnyheterna, SVT1, Sweden, 2014
Gomorron Sverige, SVT1, Sweden, 2014
Borås Tidning, Sweden, 2014
Malou Efter Tio, TV4, Sweden, 2014
Upsala Nya Tidning, Sweden, 2014
ETC, Sweden, 2014
P4 Stockholm, Sveriges Radio, Sweden, 2014
TIME Magazine, United States, 2013
Svenska Dagbladet, Sweden, 2013
P1 Morgon, Sveriges Radio, Sweden, 2013
Dear Dave Magazine, United States, 2013
Helsingborgs Dagblad, Sweden, 2013
LINDA Magazine, The Netherlands, 2013
Kyrkans Tidning, Sweden, 2013
ETC, Sweden, 2013
Journalisten, Sweden, 2013
NRC Handelsblad, The Netherlands, 2012
Fotografisk Tidskrift, Sweden, 2012
Morgonpasset, Sveriges Radio, Sweden 2008
Tidningen Foto, Sweden, 2008
Cap & Design, Sweden, 2008
Sune Jonssons Centrum för dokumentärfotografi, Västerbottens Museum, Sweden
Hasselblad Center, Gothenburg, Sweden
Landskrona Photo Festival, Landskrona, Sweden
Kolga Tbilisi Photo, Tbilisi, Georgia
Valand Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
30th International Festival of Fashion and Photography in Hyeres, France
Vögele Kultur Zentrum, Pfäffikon, Switzerland
The Finnish Museum of Photography, Helsinki, Finland
Kalmar Konstmuseum, Kalmar, Sweden
Kulturparken Småland, Smålands Museer, Växjö, Sweden
Fotografins Rum, Malmö Museer, Malmö, Sweden
JMK, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
The Nordic School of Photography, Biskops-Arnö, Sweden
Galleri Kontrast, Stockholm, Sweden
The Scanpix Award, Stockholm, Sweden
Norrlandsdagarna, Umeå, Sweden
Spoon, Stockholm, Sweden
Talentum, Stockholm, Sweden
Borås Fotofestival, Borås, Sweden
Re:Public Service Photo Festival, Stockholm, Sweden
Berghs School of Communication, Stockholm, Sweden
Kulturama, Stockholm, Sweden
Fridhems Folkhögskola, Svalöv, Sweden
Broby Grafiskas Fotoutbildning, Sunne, Sweden
Freelance Photographer, 2004 – Present
Svenska Dagbladet, Photographer, 2006–2012
Upsala Nya Tidning, Photographer, 2006
Scanpix, Photographer and Picture Editor, 2005
Picture Editor, Novell Magazine, Sweden, 2011–2013
Board Member, The Press Photographers Association Sweden, 2009–2010
Save the Children
Financial Times
Svenska Dagbladet
SJ
Tidningen Vi
Ottar/RFSU
Fokus
Stiftelsen .SE
Medievärlden
Ingenjören
Lantmännen
Språktidningen
Folket i Bild
När & Fjärran
Trossen
Lärarnas Tidning
HP/Den Tijd
Appelberg
Seco Tools
TIME Magazine
The New York Times
Le Point
Liljevalchs Konsthall
Re:public
Novell
Lars Hall
Nestle
Dagens Nyheter
Sydsvenskan
Affärsvärlden
Tidningskompaniet
Elsa & Me
Social Qrage
Chefen i Fokus
SKTF-Tidningen
Via Snella
Igor Produktion
Svensk Farmaci
GEO France
Der Spiegel
Panos Pictures
Posten
Journalisten
Volvo
3Position
Göteborgsvarvet
SEB Tryggt Liv
Holmen Magasin
Hemma i HSB
Spoon
Stockholm City
Sophianytt
Sats Magasin
Prima
Eye
Reumatikervärlden