Gösta Adrian-Nilsson
Covered by droit de suite
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"Dubbelexponering"
Signed GAN. Executed in the mid-1930s. Canvas 100 x 73 cm.
Provenance
Folkets Hus, Norrköping.
ABF, Norrköping.
Bukowski Auktioner, Modern Spring Auction 2006, lot 88.
Private Collection, acquired at the above auction.
Exhibitions
Lunds konsthall, "GAN and Wiwen Nilsson", 3 July - 28 August 1977, No. 211.
Liljevalchs konsthall, Stockholm, "Our Art - Your Art", 6 April - 27 May 1990, illustrated on fullpage in colour p. 85, No. 212.
More information
During the 1930s, Gösta Adrian-Nilsson lived intermittently in Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Lund, working intensively with painting, drawing, and writing. Artistically, he moved towards a more poetic visual language, where he combined the impulses of cubism and futurism with an increasingly free approach to colour.
“Double Exposure,” created during this period, is a fine example of how GAN continually developed his artistic practice. The title suggests a visual layering, where GAN uses overlapping forms and simultaneous perspectives—a theme that connects to both the language of film and the era's fascination with modern technology and movement.
“Double Exposure” was previously part of the ABF collection. The ABF art collection emerged in the mid-20th century as part of the labour movement's effort to make culture and education accessible to all. Through purchases and donations, works by both established and younger artists were gathered, with the aim of spreading modern art beyond traditional institutions. The collection became significant as a democratic cultural project: it was used in study circles, travelling exhibitions, and educational programmes, contributing to a broader understanding of contemporary art in Sweden.
Artist
Gösta Adrian-Nilsson is most notable as a visual artist, and he is a pioneer of Swedish modernism. He studied at the Tekniske Selskabs Skole in Copenhagen and later for Johan Rohde at Zahrtmann’s school in Copenhagen. As an avant-gardist, Nilsson was constantly searching for new influences. In Berlin, he was influenced by the circle around the radical magazine Der Sturm, through Kandinsky and och Franz Marc. In Paris through Fernand Legér and the artists in his circle. GAN was an eclectic in the positive sense of the word. He took the the artist styles of the 1900s and created new impressions. Symbolism, cubism, futurism, expressionism, constructivim and Theosophy were the colours occupying his internal pallet. He had a sharp eye for the masculine and his painting was often energized by the vitality of modern technology, vibrant eroticism, and echoes of tyrants. No other Swedish modern artist exhibits such a unique style.
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