Miss Brunnsviken

Exhibition at Carl Eldh Studio Museum, 11.6–1.10 2023

Miss Brunnsviken was the summer exhibition at Carl Eldh Studio Museum, a wooden villa that architect Ragnar Östberg designed for his friend, located on the southern shore of lake Brunnsviken in Stockholm. Visitors were greeted by aged queens, a ripe fig, dropped feathers and the remains of what appears to have been a serious party, all exhibited among the many plasters and tools of the sculptor Carl Eldh (1873-1954). The building was completed in 1919 with inspiration from the neighboring property, one of Stockholm’s oldest stables, but also from Greek temple columns, a Roman recreation room and an Old Norse banquet hall.

“The idea of the studio as a stable and a temple followed me during the work on the exhibition. I think it captures exactly what it is like to be an artist—a mix between mopping dirt or standing in a dusty stall eating oats day after day, while being in touch with something spiritual, transcendent and the search for meaning. My work encompasses both the earthly and the sacred.“

The Giant Water Lily Victoria amazonica, 2012
whearable sculpture made with polythene, textile, white glue, wheat flour, wood pegs, gelatine, tape, ink

One Fig, 2020
whearable sculpture made with textile, zipper, metal wire, glue, paper, oil paint

Queen of Lake Mälaren’s Crown, 2023
krokan pastry (almond, egg white, sugar, marzipan)

Queen of Lake Mälaren’s Slippers, 2023
lakeshore bulrush from Brunnsviken, linen thread

Queen of the Night Eternelle, 2023
paper bags, tissue paper, hackled flax, wheat starch, acrylic ink, rattan, sisal twine

The Hoopoe’s Plumage, 2023
silk, reed, bone glue, ink

Queen of Lake Mälaren’s Centennial Party, 2023
mosaic glass, gold leaf, pigmented tile adhesive

Photo: Valdemar Asp