Karin Parrow

The artist Karin Parrow (née Taube) studied with the artist Tor Bjurström at Valand in Gothenburg in the 1920s. She exhibited regularly with her fellow students.

In that circle there were, among others, Ragnar Sandberg, Ivan Ivarson, Inge Schiöler and Åke Göransson, i.e. the artists most often associated with Gothenburg colorism, the colorful art movement from the Swedish west coast.

Karin Parrow was born on the island of Vinga outside Gothenburg. In the family's crowd of thirteen children, there were among others her older brother, the future composer Evert Taube (born 1890) and Märta (born 1888). In artistic contexts, Karin Parrow chose not to use her maiden name or remind of the kinship with her famous brother.

For Karin Parrow, as for the other Gothenburg colourists, colour was the main means of expression. The painting would capture and convey both visual, olfactory and tactile impressions. In her paintings, she combined what she actually saw with what she already knew about the subject.

Perspective rules were set aside in favor of expression and wholeness. Colour was used to describe a complete state of mind, rather than to tell, describe or distinguish.

Karin Parrow was strongly impressed by her colleague Ivan Ivarson's colorful paintings, which she transformed into an expressive view of nature.
Her later painting shows more muted colors when she depicts landscapes and folk life.

In recent years, Konsthallen Sandgrund in Karlstad has exhibited Gothenburg colorists such as Inge Schiöler, Åke Göransson and Ragnar Sandberg.
The art gallery's owner, the artist Lars Lerin, is lyrical about being able to exhibit the Gothenburg colorists, he says in an interview in the newspaper NWT Karlstad on August 25, 2022:

"Lars Lerin thinks that the Gothenburg colorists are doing well, regardless of how the trends are going in art. They belong to the classics of the 20th century. They are always there, it is not affected by the rise and fall of the market, they are Swedish art history. It is among the finest that can be viewed among paintings, he says, adding that many artists have adopted them and been inspired by them. Lars Lerin already has plans for more exhibitions in the same spirit at Sandgrund in Karlstad. He mentions two Gothenburg colorists, Ivan Ivarson and Karin Parrow (sister of Evert Taube), but also Erling Ärlingsson and Sven X:et Erixson.