Bror Hjorth: Modernism meets folk tradition

In Bror Hjorth’s practice, the expression of modernism meets folk tradition. The figurative language is often rough, and music was a great source of inspiration to the artist. In 1921 Hjorth traveled to Paris, where he lived and worked for the rest of the decade. In Paris, he followed the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle’s teaching, was inspired by Egyptian and Assyrian art and was impressed by Constantin Brâncuşi’s sculptures and Paul Gauguin’s paintings.

When Bror Hjorth showed four of his “Love Groups” at Galleri Färg och Form in Stockholm in 1935, the sculptures were reported to the vice squad by a visitor who found them morally offensive. After threats of prosecution, Hjorth removed the sculptures, but left the empty plinths in the gallery in protest. The fact that the exhibition was subject to government censorship sparked a great debate and attracted large numbers of visitors.

Hear Mattias Enström, curator at Bror Hjorths Hus in Uppsala, and Matilda Olof-Ors, curator at Moderna Museet and curator of the exhibition “Rosa segel – Swedish modernism in Moderna Museet Collection”, in a conversation about Bror Hjorth, his art and life.