Childhood. 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 swinging round and round during break times and afternoons. Lena Cronqvist tenderly captures this magical time with her sculptures. Her girls are brave, playful and strong-willed.
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 continues to be a recurring theme, explored in depth by Cronqvist in both paintings and sculptures.
It was in the 1990s that Cronqvist began to explore sculpture as an art form in earnest and during the last decade she has stood out as one of the most interesting sculptors of our time. The early sculptures, some of which were created during times spent in New York with her writer husband Göran Tunström, were mostly small.
As the years passed her smaller terracotta figures have been replaced by increasingly large bronze sculptures, yet the subject matter has remained the same – young girls. But the girls are different. They are bigger, almost life-size, more ‘open’ and seem to have discovered new aspects to life. And because they are cast in bronze, a lasting material, there is now the possibility for them to play outside and live forever.
Cronqvist’s bronze sculptures can be found in many public collections. A group of five girls, similar to the present object, is located on Södermalmstorg in Stockholm, offering a slice of everyday joy to people passing a part of the city currently undergoing transformation. This spring the painted sculpture ‘Stående flicka med paraply’ was unveiled in Linköping’s ‘Seminarieträdgården’ park. Other public sculptures include: ‘Hand i hand’, installed in the park of the Rackstad Museum in Arvika, ‘Flicka i balja’ in Norre Katts park in Halmstad and ‘Flicka som räcker ut tungan’ on Brunkeberg square in Stockholm. In Karlstad ‘Två flickor’ is standing outside Värmlands Museum. It is also possible to view ‘Flicka i balja’ at the Sven-Harry Art Museum in Stockholm.