Jan-Gunnar Sjölin's Art Collection

When Crafoord Auction House Malmö now presents Jan-Gunnar Sjölin’s art collection, it is the passion for the subject that strikes the viewer.

Jan-Gunnar Sjölin, professor and later professor emeritus in art history and visual studies at Lund University, lived with art. His dissertation, The Surrealist Experience, was presented in 1981, and as a researcher and teacher, he left a lasting mark on the faculty in Lund. His inner drive and curiosity—combined with what has been called an intellectual steadfastness—propelled him in his work exploring visual worlds, meaning, and significance.

At Crafoord Auction House Malmö, we meet the art collector Jan-Gunnar Sjölin. In a theme spanning 40 lots, we are offered a glimpse of the artworks he surrounded himself with privately.

Highlights include a sheet by Olle Baertling, a mixed-media work by Endre Nemes, and several photographs by Christer Strömholm.

Mark Tobey’s hypnotic monotype from 1965 is worth pausing over, but the true centerpiece of the auction is the almost crawling, suggestive, untitled work from 1955 by the Hungarian Simon Hantaï, acquired at Galerie Jean Fournier in Paris. For the more meticulous, it can be noted that the painting is listed in Konsthistorisk Tidskrift, volume 70, issue 3, 2001.

The auction also features several works by Bertil Gadö, a locally rooted artist for whom Jan-Gunnar had a particular appreciation.

A warm welcome!