Archie Hayes 
Simon Stålenhag is an artist, musician, and designer specializing in futuristic paintings centered on stereotypical Swedish countryside surroundings. The settings of his art have formed the foundation for a variety of artwork books and a tabletop match.
Stålenhag grew up in a rural environment near Stockholm, making illustrations of their neighborhood landscape inspired by artists like Lars Jonsson. He only attempted science fiction artwork after finding theory artists like Ralph McQuarrie and Syd Mead; initially, this body of work has been done as a side-project, with no planning supporting it. Thematically, his work often combines his childhood with themes from sci-fi films, leading to a stereotypical Swedish landscape using a neo-futuristic bent. According to Stålenhag, this focus originates from his perceived lack of connection with adulthood, together with all the science fiction elements being added in part to draw audience attention and partly to influence the job’s mood. These ideas result in a body of work which can feature giant robots and megastructures together with regular Swedish things such as Volvo cars.
