Lena Cronqvist
Covered by droit de suite
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"Skvallerbytta III"
Signed LC and numbered 1/5. Executed 1993-94. Foundry mark H. Bergman. Patinated bronze. Height 31 cm, width 30.5 cm and depth 29.5 cm.
Literature
"Lena Cronqvist - Skulpturer 1993-1995", illustrated full page p. 67.
More information
In his essay ‘Lena Cronqvist och det absolut nödvändiga’, SAK 2003, Mårten Castenfors describes the artist's paintings in the 1990s as painterly representations of small figures. They are young girls grimacing in a world of growing pains, feigned innocence and childish cruelty. ‘The girls of the 1990s stubbornly turn and twist dolls and cats: they bathe, drown, strangle and bathe with the same sad pleasure.’
The girls, with their defiant and serious demeanour, seem to be placed in an adultless environment where their seemingly innocent play is charged with dark undertones. At the same time as the girls become more and more disfigured in painting, the motifs also find their three-dimensional form in Cronqvist's sculptures of terracotta and bronze. On both large and small scales, the small figures exude psychological credibility, independence and strength. They rule and reign over their own world, be it a stone, a tub or water.
The painting ‘Skvallerbytta’ in tempera and oil on canvas is dated 1991 (illustrated full page p. 160 in ‘Lena Cronqvist, Målningar 1964-1994’, Galleri Lars Boman, Stockholm, 1994). The motif ‘Tattletale’ exists as a sculpture in three versions executed in 1993-94, of which the auction's sculpture is version III.
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 Yet she also had numerous art historical references and a deep love for the craft.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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