Lars Erik Falk

In this themed auction, Bukowskis presents a selection of works by Lars Erik Falk (1922–2018), one of the most significant representatives of concrete art in Sweden. With an artistic career spanning more than six decades, he developed a visual language in which colour, geometry, and movement interact. Falk studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris during the 1940s, where he came into contact with international concretism. This approach – which emphasised the non-representational, the structural, and the visually precise – profoundly shaped his artistic outlook. For Falk, artistic expression was not about depicting the world, but about creating an independent visual reality constructed from lines, planes, and colour relationships.

His paintings are often characterised by a clear geometric structure, in which diagonals, squares, and rhythmically repeated forms are organised into carefully balanced compositions. Colour is never decorative in the traditional sense; rather, it functions as an active force, generating tension and movement within the pictorial space. This exploration of balance and motion took a new and physical form in Falk’s sculptural works – not least in his famous 73-degree tilted sculptures. By consistently working with this angle, he created pieces that appear to be in a permanent state of falling, yet are, in fact, mathematically perfectly balanced.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Falk became a central figure in Swedish concretism and an important source of inspiration for younger artists. His works were exhibited in a number of high-profile shows at some of Stockholm’s most influential galleries. One of the most notable collaborations emerged in the 1980s with the duo behind Galerie Christel – later known as Galleri Konstruktiv Tendens – run by Axel Knipschild and Monica Urwitz. The gallery at Nybrogatan 69 became a key meeting place for art enthusiasts, while outside, passersby encountered one of Lars Erik Falk’s monumental sculptures. Falk succeeded in combining precision and tension in his works – an art form that stands firm precisely because it leans.