Bærtling – prints from the Bærtling Foundation’s collection

Bukowskis is proud to present, in collaboration with the Bærtling Foundation, an auction of approximately 40 graphic works and signed flags from the Foundation’s own collection. The Foundation’s purpose is, in the spirit of Olle Bærtling and Lisa von Roxendorff-Bærtling, to promote constructive art through grants supporting the education and teaching of artists, as well as to raise awareness of Bærtling’s artistic practice. This auction will also contribute towards funding the Foundation’s major undertaking: in spring 2028, the Bærtling Foundation will publish the first comprehensive international volume dedicated to Olle Bærtling (1911–1981).

Olle Bærtling was born in Halmstad and studied in Paris under André Lhote and Fernand Léger. He made his debut in Stockholm in 1949 and worked in a geometric, non-figurative style, approaching his artistic practice in much the same way as a scientist approaches research.

In 1952, he discovered his open form: the pointed triangle, expressing speed. When, in 1956, he allowed the angular point to extend beyond the canvas, the image became a fragment of a process unfolding beyond the viewer’s field of vision, its sense of movement intensified by the increasing intensity of colour towards the point. The black contours, which curve slightly inwards to withstand the pressure of the fields of colour, are fundamental to his art, as are the colours themselves, which were neither found in nature nor intended to evoke recognisable forms. Over time, he restricted his palette to violet, orange, green and his own distinctive Bærtling white. Throughout his life, Bærtling remained devoted to his exploration of colour and form, unaffected by the prevailing artistic movements of his time.