LG Lundberg – Stängsel

LG Lundberg. Born 1938, lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden

The first fence work is a graphite drawing from 1972, it illustrated four poems by Werner Aspenström a famous Swedish writer and poet. Lundberg later decided to paint the motif and he would continue to do so in painting after painting. While focusing on fences he varied the mode of representation and zoomed in on details in drawings and collages. Lundberg experimented with a diamond shape that he considered the least common denominator. The right side was formed by two chainlink fence wires (a peak) and the left side was formed by the area that the negative space of the fence square occupies (a concave hollow). He transformed the shape into sculptures in different materials.

Before LG Lundberg devoted himself to fences, he made detailed paintings influenced by pop art and neo-realism. The paintings in the exhibition made before 1973 for example Jackan (the jacket), Den gamla strykerskan (Old Ironing Lady) and a series of screen paintings (three of a total of 30 variations) can be viewed as a prelude to the fence works. Today, he is known primarily for his paintings of the Stockholm archipelago, characterised by formal and colouristic reductions and a photographic quality.

LG Lundberg’s unrelenting work on one single motif in the 1970s stands out in the history of Swedish art. His enterprise is fascinating but also provokes questions. As art critic and art historian Olle Granath, former director of The Nationalmuseum comments: “There is a rich plurality, and deciding one’s own position – within or without – grows increasingly difficult. The question is if one is fenced in or fenced out. But the artist has found his answer, he has found poetic licence, regardless of which side of the fence he is on.”

LG Lundberg has been frequently exhibited since the mid-1960s. In 2003 he had solo shows at the Konsthall in Hishult and Galleri Flach in Stockholm. He has also exhibited abroad, in Finland, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain and Germany. Lundberg is represented in several collections, including those of Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm and the Gothenburg Museum of Art.