Lena Cronqvist
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"Flicka med hopprep"
Signed Lena Cronqvist and dated 1995 on verso. Canvas 150 x 121 cm.
Provenance
Galleri Lars Bohman, Stockholm.
More information
“One thing is clear it is Cronqvist’s girls who are in charge of this puppet-world. They are not victims. They have their own free will. They’re in command of their world, these tables, baths and waters” writes Mårten Castenfors in the book Lena Cronqvist published by the Swedish Association for Art (SAK) in 2003.
A time for being girls. The moment when life is fresh and exciting and you learn something new everyday. Hours spent in make-believe worlds. Days of skipping-ropes endlessly circling round and round during break times and afternoons. Lena Cronqvist's work tenderly captures this magical time.
The present painting shows a girl jumping over her skipping rope, wearing a red bow in her hair, matching red shorts, and a bright yellow sweater, against a multi-coloured gridded background. The grid is a prominent feature in Cronqvist’s paintings of girls from the mid-1990s. Few are those who can master colour and its endless possibilities like Cronqvist can. Once more the painting becomes a stark reminder that an image is only that – an image, and the physical world exists outside of it. Cronqvist’s work rarely leaves the viewer indifferent.
Since the 1970s Cronqvist has been one of Sweden’s most celebrated artists. With a unique artistic confidence, great intimacy and a tangible sensuality she has portrayed her experiences of growing up, being a mother and of family life. Her childhood is a recurring theme, explored in depth by Cronqvist in both paintings and sculptures.
Artist
Lena Cronqvist is born and raised in Karlstad. Her interest for the arts came early in her life, and she spent the first year of her studies in England, near Bristol’s Art School. Upon her arrival back in Sweden, Cronqvist began a short-lived education at Konstfack, leaving to study painting at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. When examining Lena Cronqvist's painting, it delves into "painting" in its more traditional sense. She is indeed a painter in the grand modern tradition, frequently turning to Edvard Munch and Francis Bacon’s art as inspirational sources. Yet she also had numerous art historical references and a deep love for the craft. Cronqvist excelled as a colourist, finding harmony in the most unusual colour combinations – few have managed to paint warmth and cold successfully at the same time. Her subject matter is often perceived as challenging and overly private by many. She often models herself for her art, posing in mundane situations imbued with a sharp psychological character. Her “Modonna-pictures” from the 1970s are a good example of this. She turns our gaze away from the conventional, notably in her portrayal and depiction of girls, which is fascinating. Cronqvist depicts these girls as ugly, simple, and altogether uncomfortable – a great contrast to how woman were normally portrayed in art. In more recent years, Lena Cronqvist has studied the effect of aging, using herself as a study. Moreover, Cronqvist is a very successful sculptor, and several of her works in bronze have been sold great sums in the auction world. She is also gifted in graphic productions, of which “Strindbergsmappen” is the most well-known. Among her most renowned works is "The Betrothal," a paraphrase of Jan van Eyck's symbol-laden painting "The Arnolfini Portrait." In Cronqvist's reinterpretation, artist and husband Göran Tunström are the main characters, with equally weighty symbolism but carrying entirely different meanings. Where van Eyck's painting features a loyal dog, Cronqvist replaces it with a cat—a symbol of independence.
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