'Untitled' (Abstract Study II) by Folke Truedsson

'Untitled' (Abstract Study II) by Folke Truedssonartist: Folke Truedsson (Swedish 1913 1989) medium: charcoal on paper dimensions: 19 1 2 x 27 1 2 cm (approx) signed circa 1950s 60s * currently unframed we can frame these on request with an archival mat, non reflective UV glass and a timber frame for approximately $150. AU $220 (approx US $145 125 EUROS 22,000 yen 110 GBP for exact current conversion visit xe. com) artist biography Folke Evald Truedsson was born on 19 March 1913 in Kristianstad. He

artist: Folke Truedsson (Swedish 1913-1989)

medium: charcoal on paper

dimensions: 19 1/2 x 27 1/2 cm (approx)
signed
circa 1950s/60s

* currently unframed - we can frame these on request with an archival mat, non-reflective UV glass and a timber frame for approximately $150.

AU $220 (approx US $145 / 125 EUROS / 22,000 yen / 110 GBP - for exact current conversion visit xe.com)

artist biography
Folke Evald Truedsson was born on 19 March 1913 in Kristianstad. He was a Swedish sculptor and painter. 

He trained at J. H. Dahl’s school, where he completed his journeyman’s certificate in cabinetmaking, and later studied metalwork. He then continued his artistic education under Professor Carl Malmsten and, between 1939 and 1946, at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm, where his teachers included Nils Sjögren and Eric Grate.

Travelling was important to Truedsson’s artistic development; he visited Denmark, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Belgium.

Truedsson’s first solo exhibition was held at Sturegalleriet, Stockholm, in 1957. Later solo shows followed at Göteborgs Konsthall and Lunds Konsthall in 1960. He also took part in numerous group exhibitions, including at Sundsvalls Museum (1957), Jönköpings Museum (1958), and the Konsthallen in Örebro (1958). His work was shown at the 5th Biennale in Antwerp in 1959, the Nordic Art Exhibition in Odense (1959), and the Eskilstuna Sculpture Expo (1959). He also participated in the Artists’ Autumn Exhibition in Copenhagen (1960) and the National Federation for Visual Arts exhibitions, among many others.

He contributed to Form i förvandling at the Northwestern Skåne Art Club, Helsingborg (1960), Aspekt at Liljevalchs Konsthall (1961), and Elva svenskar (“Eleven Swedes”), which toured Stockholm, London, Paris, and Athens between 1963 and 1964. Further important exhibitions included Art in the Domestic Environment (1964), Documents of Swedish Sculptors in Lund (1964), Kristianstad Museum (1964), Madurodam in Holland (1964), Art in the Public Environment (1965), and Swedish Master Art at the University of Lund (1965).

Truedsson first exhibited publicly in Stockholm in 1957.

His works are held in numerous public collections including the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Göteborgs Konstmuseum, Kristianstad Museum, the University Art Collections in Lund, the Archives for Decorative Art in Lund, and the Tessin Collections in Paris.

Among his many public commissions are the large concrete wall at the Swedish Broadcasting House (Radiohuset) in Stockholm; a stone and concrete wall in Svenska Handelsbanken’s head office in Gothenburg; a concrete relief in Svenska Handelsbanken’s new building in Gävle titled Vertical Silence; and sculptures in Djulnäsparken, Norrköping. He also created sculptures for the Pathological Institute in Lund, the Town Hall in Kristianstad, and the University Collections in Lund.

Truedsson was the recipient of several awards and scholarships, including the Ribbingska Scholarship (1946), the Royal Scholarship (1957), the Wingqvist Travel Scholarship (1958), and the Swedish State’s Major Working Grants in 1963 and 1964. He won first prize in the national competition for a sculptural decoration of approximately 100 square metres for the new Radiohuset wall in Stockholm.

His writings appeared in Konstrevy (no. 2, 1958), Ord och Bild (1961), and Vår Konst (nos. 2–3, 1965).

Some words from the artist:

“When one turns inward, a most tangible reality reveals itself — one that I have never been able to deny. I experience it as mysticism, as a dynamic force, or as a powerful silence, a timeless flow of movement — of life. Among the multitude of experiences, it is these immaterial values that I most urgently wish to express.

On the technical and material level, the work becomes a continuous and never-finished search for a system or a solution that can best convey this.”

Some words from the press:

Folke Truedsson sought to capture spiritual values through strongly accentuated horizontals and verticals. His monumental concrete sculptures were described as Gothic in character, with cathedral-like tension and spatial rhythm. Critics compared the synthesis of architecture and sculpture in his work to that of Henry Moore.

When his sculptures were first exhibited in Gothenburg in 1957, critics noted how his work combined a strict formal structure with an underlying organic vitality. His development moved away from figurative expression towards an increasingly dynamic abstraction, expressed through patinated and copper-enriched concrete surfaces.

In 1960, Truedsson completed one of his most significant commissions: the monumental concrete wall relief, covering approximately 100 square metres, on the southern façade of the Swedish Radio building in Stockholm. The project had been awarded to him through a national competition organised by the Swedish National Art Council. The relief, sometimes referred to as Pelasral (“Pillar Wall”), is composed of cast grey concrete.

Truedsson’s monumental works reveal an intense concern for spatial rhythm and the relationship between light, shadow, and surface. He worked through countless sketches and models — reportedly up to 35 in clay — before finalising his composition in full scale.

His Radiohuset relief is often cited as one of the most accomplished examples of Swedish post-war concrete sculpture. The piece demonstrates a masterful balance between dynamic diagonal movement and structural calm, with subtle modulations of light and texture giving the massive wall an almost musical rhythm.

As the critic Gunnar Hellman wrote in Vår Konst (1965):

“With the grey concrete wall of Radiohuset, Folke Truedsson has demonstrated a rare seriousness of intent. His monumental sculpture is not an applied decoration but an integral part of the architecture. The wall achieves both near and distant effects and generates emotional tensions within the space. Few can deny that his wall possesses a life and movement of its own.”

Truedsson passed away at the age of 76 on 1 June, 1989.