Feltmakers Ireland member Annika Berglund recently visited an exhibition in Stockholm, Sweden. Here are her impressions of the show.
By Annika Berglund
Vår Salong at Liljevalchs (Spring Salon at Liljevalch’s)
Liljevalchs is a large art gallery in Stockholm, Sweden. They have a spring salon every year, which is an open exhibition showing a wide variety of new Swedish artwork. The Spring Salon is a jury-judged exhibition. The first Spring Salon opened in 1921.
I visited the exhibition this year and was delighted to see a large number of textile entries. Work in textile media seems to have been fully accepted as fine art in Sweden, something that warmed my feltmaking heart.
There was no felt included, but many interesting pieces in woven, embroidered and mixed media.
You can find a complete list of the artists involved (all 163 of them) and an image of one work of each artist at this link: Spring Salon 2024 – Liljevalchs
It was very busy the day I visited as Mondays have free entry.
These were some of the pieces I found interesting:
Front by Sofia Lagerquist & Anna Lindgren
My absolute favourite. From a little distance, these three pieces look like boulders covered in moss and lichen that you could see in any Swedish forest, but when you get close, you see the surface is created by intricate embroidery.
SLOWART – The Knit Dive by Lina Can
What looks like an underwater scene or coral reef in white and beige yarn and twine.
Kroppen Minns (The body remembers) by Æsa Saga Ardal
Cotton wool stuffed into stockings makes a really effective piece of work.
Liv Strömquist
Embroidery featuring social media images on a bedspread.
Stuart Mayes
Neckties arranged in pleasing colour schemes.
The Spring Salon at Liljevalch’s runs until the 21st of April, 2024.
Editor’s Note: Thank you, Annika, for sharing your experience visiting this exhibition. If you are a member of Feltmakers Ireland and have seen an inspiring show, we would love to share this with our readers. Please contact feltmakersie@gmail.com
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