Lena Cronqvist
Covered by droit de suite
Image rights
The artworks in this database are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without the permission of the rights holders. The artworks are reproduced in this database with a license from Bildupphovsrätt.
For condition report contact specialist
"Flicka med hopprep"
Signed Lena Cronqvist and dated 1995 on verso. Canvas 150 x 121 cm.
Provenance
Galleri Lars Bohman, Stockholm.
More information
“One thing is clear it is Cronqvist’s girls who are in charge of this puppet-world. They are not victims. They have their own free will. They’re in command of their world, these tables, baths and waters” writes Mårten Castenfors in the book Lena Cronqvist published by the Swedish Association for Art (SAK) in 2003.
A time for being girls. 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 circling round and round during break times and afternoons. Lena Cronqvist's work tenderly captures this magical time.
The present painting shows a girl jumping over her skipping rope, wearing a red bow in her hair, matching red shorts, and a bright yellow sweater, against a multi-coloured gridded background. The grid is a prominent feature in Cronqvist’s paintings of girls from the mid-1990s. Few are those who can master colour and its endless possibilities like Cronqvist can. Once more the painting becomes a stark reminder that an image is only that – an image, and the physical world exists outside of it. Cronqvist’s work rarely leaves the viewer indifferent.
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 is a recurring theme, explored in depth by Cronqvist in both paintings and sculptures.
Artist
Lena Cronqvist was one of Sweden’s most significant and influential artists, with a career spanning more than five decades. Born in Karlstad and educated at the Bristol School of Art in England as well as the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm, she developed a style of painting where technical precision met intense emotional depth. Through her raw and emotionally charged imagery, she explored the paradoxes of motherhood, the shadows of childhood, and the relentless flow of time. Inspired by modernism and Edvard Munch, she transformed the personal into universal stories filled with deep psychological presence and power. As a painter, printmaker, and sculptor, she moved effortlessly between artistic forms, with each work marked by strong emotion and meticulous craftsmanship. Her interpretation of Jan van Eyck’s "The Arnolfini Portrait" in "Trolovningen"(1974/75) became a milestone when it sold at Bukowski's auction Vår Contemporary 2016 for over 11 million SEK - the highest amount ever paid for a work by a living Swedish artist at the time. Lena Cronqvist’s art is a bold and powerful voice that continues to move, challenge, and inspire. Her legacy lives on - boundless and timeless - reminding us of art’s ability to reach into the depths of the human experience.
Read more