Backman establishes art’s value beyond its physical components from the opening scene. Louisa’s protest of the auction emphasizes the idea that art belongs to everyone, not just the affluent, and that creativity that brings comfort and connection should not be monetized. My Friends argues that art uses a language that transcends words, operating in the realm of emotion and shared human experiences, communicating directly to the soul; as Louisa reflects, “There is art that can be so beautiful that it makes a teenager too big for her body” (7). This wordless dialogue between the artist and the audience exemplifies Backman’s exploration of how creative expression both arises from and sustains meaningful relationships, serving as a thread that binds characters across cultures and generations. 

When Louisa encounters Kimkim’s painting, it connects her to a conversation that began 25 years ago, welcoming her into a larger circle of existence. Through Louisa and Kimkim’s experiences, the novel posits that art arises from the human need to reconcile pain and beauty simultaneously. Kimkim’s art reflects not only his vision of the world but also the love and suffering he experienced with his chosen family. Louisa clings to a postcard bearing the image of the painting, pretending it is a note from her estranged mother. Similarly, Christian and Kimkim create a mural together on the school wall, symbolizing their shared experience of pain and feeling lost in the world. The mural is a collective act of creativity, healing, and visibility as Kimkim expresses himself publicly in a space where he had once been silenced and bullied. When the school erases the mural, it highlights how easily the world dismisses what it doesn’t understand or value. Through his connection with Christian, Kimkim encounters his mother, who later helps him realize his dream. This connection comes full circle when Christian’s mother assists Louisa, Ted, and Joar in installing the painting in the museum and supports Louisa in her pursuit of art, revealing how creativity and art foster relationships and connections that bear fruit long after the individuals are gone.

The novel affirms that art creates connections between people across time, allowing them to feel understood, even by those they have never met. Kimkim paints his friends based on how they made him feel, rather than how they looked—“for him, art was love. Grief. A story” (96)—and that feeling endures in his work, reaching Louisa when nothing else can connect with her. Backman portrays art as both a mirror and a window, reflecting the characters’ experiences while also offering glimpses into the inner worlds of others. In this way, creativity nurtures empathy and facilitates the healing process as Louisa encounters a piece of art that resonates with her, making her feel less alone. Through the novel’s many attempts to define art, it asserts that art and creativity, while often undefinable, enhance the capacity for understanding and compassion by inviting people to engage with experiences that might otherwise remain invisible or incomprehensible. Backman asserts that for both the creator and the observer, art makes the invisible visible, gives a voice to the forgotten, and provides a window into diverse human experiences, thereby expanding the human capacity for understanding and connection that goes far beyond personal experience.