Ernst Billgren

The Swedish artist Ernst Billgren is fearless in his characteristic way of turning conventional notions of what constitutes good art on their head. He blends fine painting with kitsch and invites animals and birds into the parlours as if no boundaries ever existed. Billgren often unites historical symbols and references with popular perceptions of art in a desire to explore contemporary issues and artistic conventions.

Billgren was born in 1957 and studied at the Valand Academy of Art from 1982 to 1987. Even then, he chose to forge his own path, questioning and challenging established conventions within painting. He is now regarded as one of Sweden's most significant artists. Ernst Billgren's artistic practice is marked by a breadth and diversity that is unique in the Swedish art scene. His artistic production encompasses a wide range of disciplines, including painting, sculpture, scenography, fiction, film, music, and furniture design. Throughout these various fields of activity, there are clear hallmarks. The thematic groups that are recognisable from Billgren's oeuvre are primarily his intriguing explorations of landscape painting, the national romantic, and the mythological. With great craftsmanship, and often with a large dose of humour, he works with various materials such as mosaic, wood, bronze, cement, tiles, and glass.