Torsten Esbjörnsson

Torsten Esbjörnsson is one of Sweden’s foremost representatives of concrete art. He was born in 1925 in Österlen and was expected to take over the family farm. However, his desire for artistic expression proved stronger, and when he discovered the universe of images, it became a turning point in his life. He applied to and was accepted at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen as well as at Mogens Andersen’s opposition art school.

In 1960, Esbjörnsson traveled to Paris for the first time—a journey followed by many more—and there he was influenced by concrete art. In addition to his studies, he spent much time attending exhibition openings and lectures. Although he never painted naturalistically, his sources of inspiration remained closely connected to nature.

The discovery of Piet Mondrian and Wassily Kandinsky had a major impact on him. However, what made the greatest impression was his encounter with Victor Vasarely. During the 1960s, he began developing an optical, non-figurative visual language based on the square and the circle as fundamental elements.

In the following years, he exhibited in several countries, and in Sweden he showed his work alongside artists such as Lennart Aschenbrenner, Bertil Berntsson, KG Nilsson, Carl Magnus, Anita Nilsson-Billgren, and Barbro Bäckström.

Torsten Esbjörnsson’s paintings are characterized by vivid colors and winding geometric compositions that invite the viewer to step into each individual work. After marrying Dolly from the United States, his encounter with the art of Georgia O’Keeffe became an important influence.

Esbjörnsson’s early works from the 1950s and 1960s are the most sought-after today, and the large painting in this auction is a wonderful example of such an early piece, rendered in blue tones.

Esbjörnsson is represented in, among other places, the Ystad Art Museum, and in 1979 he received Ystad Municipality’s Cultural Award—the year after Ola Billgren was given the same honor.