Urban Larsson
18 February—16 April 2017
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18 February—16 April 2017
"Being a oil painter in the traditional sense of the word I´m often asked why I paint as I do. My first answer is that it is a matter of personal taste and temperament. I´v always preferred figurative art and the brush and oil paint are to my liking. But there is also another level. My art is driven by an urge to create and a search for expression, beauty and lifelikeness. This is the medium I´ve found most suitable".
- Urban Larsson
Retrospective exhibition
Urban Larsson’s contemporary practice is strongly influenced by traditional painters. He works in a figurative style, using established, proven and customary elements from previous eras. Urban studied at Studio Cecil & Graves, Florence, started in the 1980s. After he left Florence, the studio was followed by Charles H. Cecil Studios and The Florence Academy of Art, which have since given training to an entire cadre of young artists studying painting in the traditional way.
Urban Larsson turns his back on modernism. His easel paintings comprise all the classical exercises: nudes, still-lives, plein-air scenes, and portraits. His lifelike portraits of prominent men and women give us a glimpse of their souls. In 2013, Urban Larsson was commissioned to paint H.M. Queen Silvia of Sweden. This work is now in the oldest national portrait collection in the world, at Gripsholm Castle, which is part of the National Museum collection.
His landscapes are meditative and shimmering and can be seen as contemporary relatives of Corot’s and Daubigny’s. The still-lives often depict everyday objects in an intimate format, with an intriguing sense of light and darkness, shadows falling softly, never intrusive or frightening.
Sven-Harrys Konstmuseum wishes to thank Urban Larsson for an inspiring collaboration. In the process, the Museum has had the pleasure of collaborating with The Mesdag Collection, The Hague, where parts of the exhibition will be shown.
