THE HALMSTAD GROUP
SURREALISM IN SWEDISH

SEPTEMBER 4- JANUARY 16,  2011


Waldemar Lorentzon, Ödesnatt, 1938
Mjellby Konstmuseum,© BUS

The Halmstad Group, comprising the artists Erik Olson, Axel Olson, Stellan Mörner, Sven Jonson, Esaias Thorén and Waldemar Lorentzon were internationally educated and familiarised themselves with modernistic currents in Berlin and Paris early on. In the 1930s, the members of the Halmstad Group started producing surrealistic paintings of inner landscapes and peculiar dreams, which received a lot of attention from the Swedish art world.

The members of the Halmstad Group were revolutionary in many ways, and exhibited together with international surrealists in various venues in Europe, but they developed their own form of surrealism, characterised by the Halland landscape and with more of a spiritual content than their European colleagues.

The issues dealt with by the Swedish surrealists are still very relevant. In the 1930s, just as today, there was a lot of interest in the human psyche and in the meaning of dreams. Then, as now, the surrounding world was in turmoil due to financial instability and the threat of war. Many of the paintings in this extensive exhibition reflect this.
When the exhibition The Halmstad Group - Surrealism in Swedish opens at Millesgården, the artworks will be perfectly framed by the setting of Millesgården, which in itself is a panoply of surrealist props, such as ancient columns, arches and sculptures.

This extensive exhibition is produced by Norrköpings Konstmuseum and Millesgården in collaboration with Mjellby Konstmuseum.