Julia Staflund

Julia Staflund (b. 1997) is a self-taught artist from Skellefteå, now based in Gothenburg, who has found her voice in ceramics. Her stoneware cats – tigers, leopards and panthers – are sculpted and painted by hand, with wide grins, bold lines and a character all of their own.

Her series Imperfect Felines moves in a neo-expressionist idiom, where rustic strength meets playful elegance. Each figure is shaped and painted individually, and none of them try to be flawless – the imperfection is the point.

Close-up of a hand-painted stoneware leopard by Julia Staflund

Black stoneware panther with blue lines by Julia Staflund

About Julia Staflund

The story behind Julia Staflund’s cats begins in childhood, with a porcelain cat she longed for but could never have. Today she makes her own – and from that memory an entire feline universe has grown, in which personal history and artistic expression are woven together.

Staflund is self-taught and works in stoneware. Each figure is built up by hand before it is painted. The material gives the sculptures weight and a rustic surface; the painting gives them their expression. Together they become animals that are wild and beautiful at once, fierce and full of humour.

Yellow and black stoneware tiger by Julia Staflund

Tattoos, Retro and Cats

Staflund draws on tattoo culture, retro aesthetics and the timeless allure of cats. You can see it in the bold black outlines, the flat, saturated colours and the open mouths full of teeth – a visual language closer to old-school tattoo flash than to the porcelain figurines of the past.

The result is neither cute nor menacing, but something in between: tigers that grin, leopards that roll onto their backs, panthers that look you straight in the eye. Every cat has its own temperament.

Every cat by Julia Staflund carries a little of the porcelain cat she never got – and a great deal of the artist she has become.

Spotted stoneware leopard lying on its back, by Julia Staflund

From Big Felines to Lagomt

The feline universe spans several formats. Big Felines are her largest sculptures, cats with a real physical presence in a room. Crouching Felines gathers the animals in a low, crouching pose. Imperfect Felines are the smaller pieces, and Lagomt – from the Swedish lagom, just the right amount – is made to be the right size for any place.

Whatever the size, each figure is sculpted and painted individually, which makes every sculpture a unique work.

Stoneware tigers by Julia Staflund on pink plinths at an art fair

Stoneware tiger by Julia Staflund on a pink plinth in the gallery

Stoneware leopard by Julia Staflund on a pink plinth in the gallery

Selected Exhibitions

Julia Staflund is represented by Mankovsky Gallery. Her sculptures have been shown at the gallery in Gothenburg since 2025 and in Stockholm since 2026.