Bold lines and organic forms: an interview with Petra Börner
Petra Börner’s artistic universe unfolds like a series of vivid vignettes—each piece pulsating with movement, emotion and a striking command of color. A Swedish-born, London-based artist, Börner has spent decades honing her craft, weaving together her Scandinavian heritage and an instinctive, contemporary edge. Her multidisciplinary approach—spanning drawing, sculpture, printmaking and animation—channels a deep fascination with natural forms and the tension between repetition and spontaneity.
As the newest collaborator in the Marimekko Artist Series, Börner brings her signature flair to the storied tradition of printmaking, exploring the dualities of flowers with characteristic boldness: delicate yet defiant, fleeting yet timeless. In her London studio, surrounded by sketches, vintage botanical books and experimental sculptures, Börner reflects on the influences that shaped her career, her latest sources of inspiration and the enduring allure of creation in all its forms.
What have been the key influences in your journey as an artist? Were there any pivotal moments that shaped your work?
Petra Börner: Drawing has been a great tool for me to figure out my thoughts and feelings for as long as I can remember, reaching for the pen to draw at the same time as I started to write.
As a child, I used to send letters to friends and pen pals across the world (it was a thing), but I’d spend hours drawing on the envelopes. Thinking of how my artwork would travel from hand to hand before reaching its destination was so exciting. I also used to read a lot of comics—perhaps this influenced me to think of my work in sequence, using bold lines and clear color.
I’m not sure what comes first: the drive and passion or the encouragement to try, but I never felt more at ease than when I was drawing. I would create banners, signs and anything for anyone who needed it.
You’re a truly multidisciplinary artist. Have you always seen yourself as a maker?
PB: I’ve always been obsessed with making things—using found materials and putting them together just to see what happens, like sketches. I’m grateful for the passion shared in my family: a keen interest in all sorts of practical crafts, always looking for solutions. When reaching for this toolbox of practical skills, I’m still transported to specific moments. It’s perhaps a bit glorified, but it feels like the most vivid landscape, derived from times spent learning together. I think it’s very interesting to see how the same concept or idea transforms through different media and methods.
Nature and flowers are recurring themes in your work. What significance do they hold for you?
PB: The point of existence—it’s everything. I find the movement of plants seductive and hopeful, yet it also signals change and the need to acknowledge the inevitable impermanence. Plants are so powerfully perfect: comforting, vitalizing, fragile, yet surprising and fun. I love the practical aspects of plants—how there are reasons behind why they thrive (or not).
I spent much time outdoors as a child, creating a world of my own, using debris from the ground to embellish my space—a busy critter.
I started collecting vintage books from flea markets, particularly botanical books and photographic ones, and began drawing from them repeatedly, engrossed by the structure and detail. I still continually return to these reference points in my work in various ways.
You often speak about working with repetition. What is it about repetition that resonates with you?
PB: I like repetition as it creates a pattern of movement; a focused, almost meditative state where I’m at ease and my lines become my own. Drawing is physical and the marks we make are as personal as our handwriting. In my mind I see what I’d like to draw as frames, which I interpret with the material at hand.
I’ve always been surrounded by hard-working people, realizing that dedication to what’s at hand is vital to reaching your goals. It’s stuck with me, whether I like it or not. Though my goal and path have taken many turns, what I do through various experiments always seems to be the same at heart. Repetition enables a chance to review and explore very simple work in a million different ways, each time revisited in a parallel light, perhaps revealing a new opportunity. It becomes my visual handwriting—familiar, effortless and my most comfortable self.
What inspires you most at the moment?
PB: Perhaps it’s a sign of the times in more ways than one—or just what I have always done—but I find myself drawn to two very opposite things:
Firstly, using found materials, particularly cardboard, to create energetic 3D objects and canvases for my ideas. It’s immediate, and I like this neutral base as a starting point. I enjoy repurposing these blank surfaces, all with different textures and weights, often marked by previous journeys, labels, and tape.
Secondly, I’m excited about working on more permanent pieces, sculpted in clay or plaster as large-scale installations. In clear contrast to found materials, this process involves planning, where the canvas is site-specific, created for me to work my ideas into.
Do you have any personal favorites in the Marimekko Artist Series 2025 collection?
PB: It’s a hard choice with so many great moments to pick from!
Seeing Vildstjälk being sampled using 11 massive screens in the Marimekko workshop together with the amazing design team is certainly up there as a life event for me. We were all buzzing as the cloth picked up color along the way, rolling towards such a dynamic full bloom.
I love how hands-on this traditional technique is, even at this elevated level, proving the Marimekko signature passion for print! But it’s also been brilliant to see how carefully the same motif was translated thread-by-thread into a woven art piece.
…Hmm, and then how neat it is to see my Pistilla motif dancing around the classic Marimekko cup too!