A Collection in Transformation Theme Uppsala

Theme: Uppsala
From Liljefors to Liljefors
6 February 2016 - 8 January 2017

As the German philosopher Walter Benjamin once expressed, the allure of a historical image is decided not its own era, but by our contemporary age. Uppsala Art Museum administers several generations of Uppsala images in its collections. With every new acquisition, the collection changes somewhat and a new comparison becomes possible. In the exhibition we can, among other things, see the atmospheric painting of the national romanticism of the late 1800s captured by the nature and wildlife painter Bruno Liljefors. Artists of following generations adopt new approaches and develop the image in an entirely different art movements. The latest addition to the collection are the fashion designer Ylva Liljefors's creations in fur, that artfully motivate the exhibition's subheading From Liljefors to Liljefors.

Artists that have depicted Uppsala, that have been born, lived or worked here is the prerequisite for this exhibition. The city and the flatlands, the recognizable features are distinguishable in the older genres of painting, but as modernism slips into history, the young artists embrace a freer artistic expression. Upsala-Ekeby is represented in the exhibition by the decoration painting of the 1910s and '20s as well as the strong woman designer tradition of the 1950s and '60s.