Ola Billgren
Sweden
Ola Billgren’s paintings provide the viewer with insights into a relationship with easel painting since 1960. In earlier works, the renowned Swedish painter who passed away in 2001, especially investigated questions of representation, devoting himself to the role of the individual in the picture. Similar to his contemporaries Richard Hamilton and Gerhard Richter, Billgren began his quest by transmitting filmic strategies onto canvas. In the middle of the 70s, Billgren approached the discussion about mythological mirroring effects with partly symbolically charged portraits, and continued it into the 80s where he found a lyrical, romantic/dark, abstract, scenic expression. At the start of the 90s, he finally moved from representational painting to conceptually structural grid works. The desire to formulate a contemporary means of representation of classical easel work pervades his representational works and the atmospheric visual spaces. A presaging, a moment of suspension, these characterize his landscapes and portraits. To understand this effect, simply looking is not enough. His works demand an active positioning. These are motifs between figurative address and media reflection.
Works
X-Ray Chamber, 2000, oil on canvas, 131.5 x 104 cm
November Garden, 2000, oil on canvas, 60 x 57 cm
Roman Statue, 2000, Öl auf Leinwand, 135,5 x 98,5 cm
Landschaft Skåne, 2000, Öl auf Leinwand, 80 x 114 cm
Hill Skåne, 2000, Öl auf Leinwand, 96,5 x 129,5 cm
Klädnad IV, 1990, Öl auf Leinwand, 195 x 293 cm (Diptych)
Untitled, 1991, oil on canvas, 190 x 350 cm
Biography
1940 geboren in Löderup (S)
2001 gestorben in Malmö (S)
Solo exhibitions
2002 „Ola Billgren till minne“, Rooseum Center for Contemporary Art, Malmö (S)
2001 Rolf Hengesbach/Räume für neue Kunst, Wuppertal (D)
2000 Galleri Engström, Stockholm
1999 „Ola Billgren, Malerei“ Westfälischer Kunstverein, Münster (D) Galerie Leger, Malmö (S)
1998 „Fotografi“, Galleri Annexet, Malmö (S) Göteborgs Konstmuseum(S) Sundsvalls Museum (S)
1997 Räume für Neue Kunst, Rolf Hengesbach, Wuppertal (D) „Till natten“, Galerie Leger, Malmö (S)
1996 „Pomejansk Interiör“, Galerie Susanne Ottesen, Copenhagen Galleri Engström, Stockholm
1994 Galerie Susanne Ottesen, Copenhagen „Landskap med torn“, Östergötlands Läns Museum, Linköping (S) Bildmuseet Umeå (S)
1991 Retrospektiv, Rooseum, Malmö (S) Galleri Engström, Stockholm Retrospektiv, Moderna Museet, Stockholm
1989 Galerie Leger, Malmö (S)
1988 Galleri Engström, Stockholm
1986 Galleri Engström, Stockholm
1985 Centre Culturel Suedoise, Paris
1984 Galerie Asbaeck, Copenhagen
1983 Galleri Engström, Stockholm Galleri Wallner, Malmö (S)
1982 Galleri Engström, Stockholm
1981 Galleri Wallner, Malmö (S) Galleri 69, Göteborg (S) Konsthallen Borås (S)
1980 Krognoshuset, Lund (S)
1979 Galleri Engström, Stockholm Konstmuseet i Ystad (S) Konsthallen, Borås (S)
1974 Galleri Anders Tornberg, Lund (S) Svenska Bilder, Stockholm
1972 Galleri 69, Göteborg (S) Krognoshuset, Lund (S)
1970 Galleri Belle, Västerås (S)
1968 Krognoshuset, Lund (S)
1967 Gävle Museum (S)
1966 Galleri Karlsson, Stockholm
1965 De Ungas Artotek, Malmö (S)
1962 Lilla Konstsalongen, Malmö (S)
Group exhibitions
2013 „Bildfrost (frozenness)“, Hengesbach Gallery, Berlin (D)
2012 „20 YEARS“, Hengesbach Gallery, Berlin
1999 „Facetter af Nordeuropeisk Kunst“, Sønderjyllands Kunstmuseum Tønder (DK)
1998 „Memento Metropolis“, Kulturfabriken Stockholm
1987 „Helldunkelhell“, Künstlerhaus Bethanien Berlin
1984 „Buscando el Norte“, Museo National del Arte Contemporáneo Madrid
1980 The Nordic pavilion, Biennale di Venezia
1975 „Neuer Realismus aus Schweden“, Bonn, Nürnberg, Dortmund, Lübeck (D)
1970 „Svenskt Alternativ“, Moderna Museet Stockholm
1967 „5. Biennale de Paris“, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville
Collections
Konstmuseum, Konstmuseet Malmö (S), The Fredrik Roos Collection Malmö (S), Moderna Museet Stockholm (S), Nationalmuseum Stockholm (S), Borås Konstmuseum, Göteborg (S), Museet for Samtidskunst Oslo (DK), Statens Museum for Kunst Copenhagen (DK), Musée National d’Art Moderne Paris (F), Museum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte der Hansestadt Lübeck (D), Von der Heydt-Museum Wuppertal (D), Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (USA)