CARL FREDRIK EMRIK

Born 1993

"In my work with installations and objects, drawing is an integral and decisive part of the process. I use drawing not only as preparation or a sketch, but also as a way of thinking, investigating, and activating materials and spaces. The drawing often takes the form of line work directly on the objects or in relation to them – lines, rhythms and markings that add life, movement and presence.

I enjoy working intuitively with the line, where drawing becomes a physical and repetitive act rather than a depiction. The lines can function as extensions of the objects’ forms, or as contrasts that give them new meanings. In this way, the drawing becomes part of the installation and contributes towards how the space is experienced and interpreted.

For me, drawing is a way of relating to the world. Making lines, dots and marks on surfaces is a way of thinking through the hand, trying out ideas in real time and letting the process guide me. Drawing is a method, a language and a living element in my practice."

Master’s degree in Art and Architecture, the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts’ School of Visual Arts, 2022

Photos: portrait Markus A. Lindberg, artworks Carl Fredrik Emrik

CARL FREDRIK EMRIK

Carl Fredrik Emrik participates in the scholarship competition and exhibition with five drawings created 2025.

Various teckniques, see the artworks.

1. Center of Rotation
2. Rose Hip Field
3. Practice Parallel Play
4. You Make My Head Fly
5. Forever and Always Skati


Click on the artworks in the slideshow to see full images, or scroll down. It can take a little while for the images to upload. Enlarge the drawings by choosing zoom or full page via the tool box by each image.

THE SELECTION COMMITTEE'S MOTIVATION:
Rarely has the title ‘The Thinking Hand’ been so appropriate as it is in the case of Carl Fredrik Emrik’s drawings. The hand searches like an archaeologist’s, and landscapes and figures emerge as if in an automatic haze. The lines are not forced, emerging instead on their own terms. Despite a seemingly random execution, a precise image is created of what we can only sense.

Center of Rotation
Milled drawing on linseed oiled om MDF board, details of plastic date kernels, 2025. Originalstorlek 80×80cm.
Rose Hip Field
Graphite on wet blue clay (detail from a larger sculpture in mixed media), 2025. Original size35×25cm.
Practice Parallel Play
Oil pastel on paper, 2025. Original size 70×50cm.
You Make My Head Fly
Graphite on paper, 2025. Original size 42x30cm.
Forever and Always Skati
Ink on paper, 2025. Original size 44x30cm.