Magnus Gjoen

Magnus Gjoen, the son of Norwegian parents, grew up in Denmark, Italy, Switzerland and the UK. After studying Fine Art and Fashion Design, he started a prominent career in the fashion industry, working for notable brands including Vivienne Westwood, before turning his attention to art as an "accidental artist." In his work, he imposes sophisticated patterns and baroque floral imagery onto unlikely objects; grenade launchers, UZI submachineguns and skulls, alluding to their fragility and the fact that beauty can be found in unexpected places. Other pieces of his rework classical paintings, breathing new life into them with  thought-provoking or comical angles. 

He has taken part in exhibitions across the world and his works are included in notable permanent collections such as the Daimler collection and the Haifa Museum of Art.