Throughout the ages, art has been primarily representational, with the aim of documenting, portraying and conveying messages about wealth, power and politics. However, non-representational creation has been around for a long time, including in architecture and details such as ancient mosaic floors.
The word abstract means that something has been removed, usually the representational elements. Form was considered most important. Over the years, this artistic expression has had many orientations and names, from Malevich's "suprematism" to French "cubism", the Swedish concept of "concrete art" with Otto G Carlsund at the forefront, and Russian "constructivism". The prerequisite for sculptural constructivism, the three-dimensional non-representational art, was the new technical conditions that came in the 20th century with plastic, nylon, welding, acrylic glass, enamel, etc.
Over time, these styles were passed and new forms developed. In our theme auction you will find abstract works by mainly Swedish artists who have brought abstract art into our century. They have all hung in the same home, with a collector in Linköping. Many of the works were made in the 1980s and 1990s by artists represented by the legendary Stockholm gallery Konstruktiv Tendens. The idea of non-figurative art has been developed generation after generation, and the result is neither modern nor outdated, but simply elegant and timeless.