ABOUT
Christer Järeslätt is a Malmö-based Swedish visual artist and photographer whose work explores the intersection of documentary photography and painterly aesthetics. Known for his use of vibrant contrasts and precisely arranged compositions, he constructs images where saturated colors form the dominant visual language.
He studied photography at the University of Gothenburg, earning a Bachelor’s degree before embarking on a career in photojournalism. Over the years, he has worked for some of Sweden’s leading newspapers. A first journey to Japan in 2000, followed by six months in Tokyo as a correspondent in 2002, marked the beginning of a deep and lasting influence of Japanese culture on his practice.
Järeslätt is the author of several books, including Sofia Red (2025), Vilnius (2025), Snow (2024), Hakodate (2022), ToYuko – A Non Real Life Love Experience (2012), and Refricater (2008).
CV / CHRISTER JÄRESLÄTT
Born 1963 in Halmstad, Sweden
Resides and works in Malmö, Sweden
EDUCATION
1997 Journalism, University of Gothenburg,
1987 – 1992 Photography, Bachelor’s Degree, University of Gothenburg
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025 Stadsgalleriet, Laholm
2025 Konsthallen, Nynäshamn
2024 Galleri Moment, Ängelholm
2023 F2/Black Door Gallery, Örebro
2023 Galleri Ping-Pong, Malmö
2022 PopUp-Galleri, Gustav Adolfs torg, Malmö
2022 Galleri Ping-Pong, Malmö
2018 Scandinavianphoto, Malmö
2017 Fotogalleriet Blå Huset, Hörby
2014 Dunkers Kulturhus, Helsingborg
2013 Fotografi i Fokus, Fotobiennal, Malmö
2012 Malmö Museer
2010 Multeum, Strängnäs
2009 Arbetets Museum, Norrköping
2009 Kulturen, Lund
2009 Galleri Lilith Waltenberg, Malmö
2009 Fotografi i Fokus, Fotobiennal, Malmö
2008 Hotel Tylösand, Halmstad
2008 Swedish Embassy, Tokyo Japan
2006 Fotogalleriet, Visby
2001 Sydsvenskans Galleri, Malmö
2000 Hallands Länsmuseum, Halmstad
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 8+1, Pop-up, Gustav Adolfs torg, Malmö
2024 Vita Ladan, Löderup
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Hallands Konstmuseum, Halmstad
Region Skåne
Region Örebro Län
Region Halland
Ängelholms Kommun
COMMISSIONED ARTWORK
1992 Halmstads Municipality, Photography Baldersbrå, and painted wall (Bladverk)
BOOKS
SOFIA RED, Snapshot Publishing 2025,
ISBN: 978 91 980125 1 4
VILNIUS, Snapshot Publishing 2025,
ISBN: 978 91 980125 4 5
SNOW, Snapshot Publishing 2024,
ISBN: 978 91 980125 3 8
HAKODATE, Tira Books, Sweden 2022,
ISBN: 978 91 986068 4 3
TOYUKO – A NON REAL LIFE LOVE EXPERIENCE, Snapshot
Publishing 2012, ISBN: 978 91 980125 2 1
STADEN, HUSET OCH KORSET, Snapshot Publishing
2012, ISBN: 978 91 980125 0 7
REFRICATER – porträttserier av Christer Järeslätt
text: Carl Johan De Geer och Lilith Waltenberg,
Sanatorium förlag 2008, ISBN: 978 91 976912 2 2
AWARDS
2022 Tokyo international Photo Awards
Honorable Mention Best Photobook: Hakodate
GRANTS
2022 Swedish Author’s Fund Working Grant
2020 The Swedish Arts Council Working Grant
2012 Swedish Author’s Fund Working Grant
2009 Swedish Author’s Fund Working Grant
2006 Swedish Image Suppliers’ Association Grant
2005 The Swedish Arts Council Two-Year Working Grant
1995 The Swedish Arts Council Working Grant
RESIDENCIES AND SCHOLARSHIPS
2022 Swedish-Japanese Foundation Residency Scholarship
2011 Swedish Association of Professional Photographers Residency Scholarship, Kavala, Greece
SELECTED PRESS AND PUBLICATIONS
Tommy Arvidson, Om staden och om snön, (Book review) Fotografisk Tidskrift, #3 2024
Christer Järeslätt, Hakodate Portfolio, KATALOG, issue # 34.2 2023
Christer Järeslätt, Klockan Klämtar för Japanerna, (Reportage) Göteborgs-Posten, 16 februari 2020
Christine Antaya, Blåögd i Tokyo, (Review) Helsingborgs Dagblad, 7 juli 2014
Joakim Gerhardsson, Avklätt om kärleken (Book review) KvP Kultur, 1 november 2012
Boel Gerell, Halmbalars klang (Review) Christer Järeslätt, Galleri Lilith Waltenberg, Malmö, Kvällsposten Kultur, 2009
David Haglund, Refricater, (Book review) Bild & Bubbla nr 181 (4/2009)
Tommy Arvidson, Tecknare, fotograferade och tecknade (Book review) Dagens Bok.com 2009
Sara Schüldt, Fotografi och seriekonst, (Review) Folkbladet, Norrköping, 23 oktober 2009
Mats Granberg, En god idé blev duetter i bild, (Review) Norrköpings Tidningar, Norrköping, 23 oktober 2009
Anna Tullberg, Serietecknare skrapar på sig själva, Kulturnytt, Sveriges Radio, 8 september 2008
bengt valentinsson, Estetik som ger kalla kårar, (Review) Helagotland, 1 augusti 2006
Magdalena Olsson, Kvadratiska minnen från svenska förorter, (Review) Helagotland, 29 juli 2006
Download CV as a pdf
ARTIST STATEMENT
With photography, I work in a searching manner, seeking out color clashes and moods: a red traffic light painting a gray concrete wall and making it vibrate, or the headlights of a car projecting shadowy figures onto a façade. A play of colors and light brings the sleeping city to life, as surfaces and spaces begin to dance. The details are fragments that, together, form a story about the place. Here, traces of lives once lived remain visible, alongside subtle omens of the future.
Color takes precedence. It is the color experiences that capture my attention, even though the images contain a documentary sublayer. The documentary aspect emerges gradually, adding nuance to the story of the place. Behind the façade lie smaller, more understated stories – not as eye-catching, but equally important. In a frosted window, a dish brush stands among glasses and soy sauce bottles; on an upper floor, clothes hang from a rack beneath the glow of a bare fluorescent tube. The walls crack, and the plaster peels away. When dawn arrives, the enchantment breaks, and the building structures stiffen once more.
I draw a lot of inspiration from Japan. During recurring work stays, I try to abandon central perspective and instead create two-dimensional descriptions of space through layers and shifts in color, much like Japanese woodcuts. I seek visual flows, inspired by the stylized line play that gives Kanji characters their meaning. Together, these ambitions form the core of my artistic practice.