Biography

Anna Berndtson was born in 1972 in Malmö, Sweden. In 1992 she moved to England, where she both worked and studied. She studied Theatre Performance at the Dartington College of Arts, where she learned about the presentation and staging of both herself and an ensemble. At one point her work got more sculptural and physical and less staged or theatrical. She graduated with a BA (Honours) Degree in Theatre from the Dartington College of Arts in 1999.

After her graduation she moved to Berlin, Germany where she participated in various theatre and dance performances and events. She started to study Fine Arts and joined the Performance Class of Marina Abramovic at the HBK Braunschweig, Germany. In 2003 she co-founded the performance duo, TBL (TallBlondLadies), together with Irina Runge. Next to Anna Berndtson’s solo-performances the work with TBL is a significant part of her artistic work. She graduated with a Diplom in Fine Arts from the HBK in 2005. Anna Berndtson now lives and works in Sweden and Germany.

In her performances, videos and photos, Anna Berndtson puts herself in the centre of the work. She forms her impulses and her engagement and brake and exaggerates it in an ironic or sarcastic way. With the same energy she focus on the society and that what is happening around her. She works directly with issues that touch her as she holds up a mirror to society.

She has performed and exhibited work extensively including Connect Launch, IMMA, Dublin (2010), The 10th Open International Performance Art Festival, Bejing, China (2009), Artists Space, New York (2007), PS1 MoMA, New York (2006), Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (2005) and Recycling the Future — VV2 at the Venice Biennale (2003).

In 2006 Anna Berndtson was awarded the Worpswede Künstlerhäuser artist-in-residence grant as well as the grant from Aase och Richard Björklunds fond. She has also been awarded the work grant from Konstnärsmämden in Sweden for 2007 as well as for 2010-2011. During 2010 Anna Berndtson was on the artist-in-residence grant at the Fire Station Artists’ Studios in Dublin.