Yesterday, my friend Josué tipped me off to artist Simon Stålenhag, because that’s what friends do.
Stålenhag’s work is amazing.
He paints beautiful landscapes of 1980’s Sweden, but with science-fiction elements scattered throughout. The result is an epically scaled SF world that feels tangible because of the detail and depth of each piece. Every painting I’ve seen feels like a frozen moment from a real world.
The work is so believable, partly because of how casually the imagined SF elements are combined with the commonplace scenery and familiar 80’s artifacts.
I found myself scrolling through image after image, immersed in these dispatches from a dystopian post-war version of our planet. The work is expansive, sending the imagination running wild. I want to know more, dive deeper into each painting. I wish I could research the history of this world that never was.
You should check out all of his work. Buy it and share it and whatnot: Simon Stålenhag.
Also, apparently they just crowdfunded a book-based RPG set in the world Stålenhag has created, Tales from the Loop.
