From Björn Springfeldt’s opening speech at the exhibition at Galleri Astley, Uttersberg, 2013:

“Two powerful forces, which more than anything else transform us—our view of the world, and the world itself—are wonder and the capacity for critical thinking. These are the energies that drive a person to become a scientist, a poet, or an artist.

What distinguishes the scientist from most of us is the endurance of thought, and what distinguishes the poet and the artist from most of us is a sensitivity that cannot be switched off.
[…]

The first time I experienced how uncompromisingly demanding and at the same time all-encompassing Lars Kleen’s work is was in 1968, when at Stureplan in Stockholm he had built a gigantic construction with a structure that was gradually torn apart by a centrifugal force.
An image of a society breaking apart, and of an individual permeated by the world.

Since then, Lars Kleen has continued to work on a gigantic scale, but always with a technique grounded in the work of the hand, where the responsibility of the individual is visible.

To present his works—which require not only large spaces but also a long time to erect and dismantle—he has had to seek venues outside the conventional spaces of art.

The strength of his work, and this imposed necessity to operate outside the gallery and museum, has led to a paradoxical situation. While he is recognized as one of our foremost artists, most of his works are stored in parts and impossible to encounter.

We are therefore fortunate that one of those who early took an interest in what Lars Kleen does is the photographer Gunnar Smoliansky, who for more than forty years has interpreted everything Lars Kleen has created through his photographs.

This is also significant because Lars Kleen is never satisfied with how a work has turned out, but constantly rebuilds them.”