Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd

Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd is one of Sweden´s most internationally recognized artists. Together with Öyvind Fahlström he is leading Swedish avantgarde at the late 50s and early 60s. Despite this, he may be most remembered in his home country for the sculpture “Non-violence” created after the murder of John Lennon in 1980, and displayed outside the UN-building in New York. Yet, his most important works are clearly created in the late 50s and especially very early 60s. Possibly he is partly forgotten and undervalued due to his exile from Sweden in 1969 when he moved to Switzerland. Yet, with an education with Fernand Léger in Paris 1951-52, a series of exhibitions in Paris (with Galerie Daniel Cordier and others) and elsewhere, and a Professorship in painting in Stockholm 1965-1969, his paintings from the early years are his main contributions to the history of art. The two main series of works in the critical years 1961-1963 are “Cigars” and “Games”. His works are represented at the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate Modern, London; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul, France; Kunsthaus, Zurich; Stedelijk, Amsterdam; Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, and some other 75 museums in 16 countries.

The present work, entitled “Cigars” is actually also containing elements from the “Games” series. You may look on the two cigars as a table of pool, with a few cue balls breaking through the walls. The painting was exhibited at the very last exhibition that Reuterswärd participated in physically. This work was his favourite of all the works he had kept for himself until this event. In fact, for the CD of music selected by CFR for the show, he put a picture of this work on the cover.