SWEDISH COLOR PAINTING – CARL KYLBERG

PRESS RELEASE

Nykytaide ry and The Fine Arts Academy of Finland, at the initiative of Professor Maire Gullichsen, have organized an exhibition of works by renowned Swedish artist Carl Kylberg (1878–1952) in Finland. The exhibition is showcased at both the Ateneum Art Museum and Pori Art Museum. It includes approximately 130 works—paintings, drawings, and watercolors—primarily on loan from Anders Wall’s private collection in Sweden. The collection is further enriched by the triptych “A Tale of Love” (1945–46) from the Moderna Museet collection and three paintings from the Ateneum Art Museum.

Sections of this significant collection have previously been exhibited at Thielska Galleriet (1982–83), the National Gallery in Oslo (1984–85), and the Swedish Cultural Centre in Paris (1985).

The first presentation of Kylberg’s paintings in Finland took place at Galleri Stenmans Dotter in 1939. At the time, Finnish critics approached his work with skepticism, though poet and painter Rabbe Enckell praised Kylberg, drawing comparisons to Picasso, Braque, and Léger. Enckell noted:
“Kylberg’s paintings confront us with the same demand for beauty. His colors resonate with the profound harmony of Fra Angelico or Masaccio. Standing before Kylberg’s art, one feels the artificial boundary between the literary and the painterly dissolve. Kylberg, if anyone, is a painterly artist, but entirely on an inner level.”

A solo exhibition of Kylberg’s works was later held at Galerie Artek in Helsinki in 1945.

The current exhibition includes several of Kylberg’s most significant pieces, such as “The Sacred Painter” (1928), “Sea Air” (1933), and “Dawn on the Road” (1938). Among the nearly 100 watercolors and drawings are original illustrations for the children’s books “Kalle, Ulla and Keikari” and the autobiographical tale “Leo Lion” (both from 1924).

This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to engage with Carl Kylberg’s diverse oeuvre, highlighting his ability to merge deep internality with a profoundly painterly approach.

Translated with ChatGPT