Anders B. Liljefors (1923-1970)

Anders B. Liljefors was a Swedish ceramicist, sculptor and painter. He spent a total of ten years at Gustavsberg, first from 1947 to 1953 and secondly from 1955 to 1957. At Gustavsberg he revolutionized the perspective on stoneware with his free form creations, opening for stoneware to be considered art as well as arts and crafts.

He studied sculpture at Edward Berggrens Målarskola for Ivar Jonsson, painting at Målarskolan for Isaac Grünewald, and at Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi in Copenhagen. After starting his employment at Gustavsberg in 1947, he quickly gained a reputation as an eccentric, both in regards to his production and as a person. He soon got his own studio, where he developed a very personal style. It stood in stark contrast to the artistic ideas of Wilhelm Kåge, Berndt Friberg and Stig Lindberg, who strived for perfection in forms and glazes.  Nonetheless, his first separate exhibition at NK in 1952 was a success.

During his second period at Gustavsberg, Anders B. Liljefors started experimenting with casting ceramics in sand, a technique that gave his stoneware distinctive surfaces and forms. The pieces were often decorated with the glazes that the Wilhelm Kåge, Berndt Friberg and Stig Lindberg had deemed substandard. The new ceramics were presented in an exhibition in 1956 and while they represented a revolution in stoneware, all critics and connoisseurs were not charmed. For many, the bulky forms and “slimy” glazes were too far from the prevalent artistic ideals. However, Liljefors’ work foreboded a freer, more artistic future for ceramics. In the early 1960s Bengt Berglund continued on the same path and is considered Anders B. Liljefors’ spiritual heir.

Following his time at Gustavsberg, Anders B. Liljefors set up his own ceramic studios in Roslagen outside Stockholm and in Blekinge in the south of Sweden. He died unexpectedly from a heart attack at a ceramics’ symposium in Hungary in 1970.

His production included vases, bowls, birds, abstract sculptures, wall reliefs etc. His public works include a 450 m² ceramic wall relief in Folkets Hus in Stockholm, created in collaboration with Signe Persson-Melin between 1959 and 1960. He is represented at Nationalmuseum, Röhsska muséet and Victoria and Albert Museum, among others.

Literature: Gustavsberg: Porslinet, Fabriken, Konstnärerna. Gösta Arvidsson, Norstedts, 2007

Ingeborg Lundin (1921-1992)

Ingeborg Lundin was a Swedish glass artist, whose 1950s and 1960s designs are among the most influential of that era. Lundin got her education at Konstfack in Stockholm and started working at Orrefors directly after her graduation in 1947. She stayed at Orrefors until 1971, redefining the art of glass design with her pure, gracious, sometimes ethereal creations.  Ingeborg Lundin received the Lunning prize in 1954 and a gold medal at the Milano Triennale in 1957.

Literature: Svenskt glas. Åke Huldt. Wahlström & Widstrand, 1991

Fred Leyman (1919-2004)

Fred Leyman was a Swedish artist, schooled at the renowned Valand Art Academy in Gothenburg during the 1950s. Leyman worked in a distinctly modernist style influenced by the international modernist movement, music, political ideas and the environment in which he lived. He is best known for his around 40 large-scale sculptures erected in public spaces in Gothenburg and other parts of southwestern Sweden.

Fred Leyman lived on the island of Orust with his wife and children, in accordance with what he found to be ”a good life” – close to nature on a small farm with sheep and horses. He was also deeply interested in music, particularly traditional folk music. Both the open, marine landscape of Orust and the rhytmical qualitites in music were vital forces in his artistry and in the development of his personal style. Leyman used iron and steel and sometimes wood and leather in his sculptures. These are characterized by sharp and billowing graphic lines and the use of negative space, seemingly always reaching somewhere. It is an expression striking the perfect balance between abstract and concrete.

Leyman’s materials of choice were particularly suitable for large and sustainable sculptures and making public works was a substantail part of his career. However he also created many small-scale sculptures in the same, yet distilled, style of his large works. Nordlings is proud to introduce a collection of Fred Leyman sculptures made for interiors and private homes. The sculptures originate from Leyman’s estate and have never previously been available on the market.

Find pieces by Fred Leyman here.

Source: Interview with the artist’s family

Vicke Lindstrand (1904-1983)

Vicke Lindstrand was one of Sweden’s most influential glass artists, with a long, fruitful career where he set the tone of the style and quality of Swedish glass production over many decades. He was originally trained as an illustrator and was very accomplished as such, which is evident for example in his glass engravings. Lindstrand was employed as an artist by Orrefors glassworks from 1928 to 1940 where he worked alongside Simon Gate and Nils Landberg, among others.

Vicke Lindstrand turned to ceramics and worked as creative leader at Uppsala-Ekeby between 1942 and 1950. He brought with him his high sense of quality which elevated Uppsala-Ekeby’s overall production and was very important for the company’s development.

From Uppsala-Ekeby Lindstrand returned to glass as creative leader at Kosta glassworks, where he worked from 1950 to 1973, breaking new ground with new shapes, strong colors and a ceaseless richness of ideas. He made many important contributions with public artworks, among the the “Prisma” glass sculpture which was uncovered in Norrköping in 1967. At the time it was the largest glass sculpture in the world with its imposing height of 11.5 meters. Towards the end of his career Lindstrand worked in a small scale with smaller glass studios.

Jorma Laine (1930—2002)

Jorma Laine was one of the most unique voices in the history of Scandinavian jewelry, and is considered one of the most interesting Nordic silversmiths of the 1960s and 1970s. He developed a very characteristic abstract, modernistic style of working with silver and bronze, and is best known his work for the firm Turun Hopea, but he also worked for the firm Kultateollisuus Ky and his own firm Silver-Laine. He lived large parts of his life as a recluse in a cabin deep in the Finnish woods. There he lived close to the wildlife and got his inspiration from nature itself but also the from local myths of spirits and gnomes. His pieces range from beautiful geometrical pieces inspired by snowflakes to whimsical but oddly beautifull small sourly portraits of spirits.

Find jewelry by Jorma Laine on nordlingsjewelry.com.