Curt Dahlén: Colour and Form

Curt Dahlén (1931–2025) was a Swedish artist and graphic designer. He was born in Norrköping and later lived in Lerum outside Gothenburg. Throughout his long professional life he worked with both art and graphic design. He was one of the first in Sweden to work with corporate identity and visual branding.
He began his artistic career in the 1950s when he studied drawing, illustration, graphic design and painting. A formative moment came when he worked at Söderströms Annonsbyrå in Norrköping and encountered modern art by among others Kandinsky and Malevich. This, combined with studies at Norrköpings Konstmuseum, shaped the way he thought about colour, form and image.
In 1964 Dahlén founded his own design studio in Gothenburg. There he spent many years creating visual identities for major Swedish companies such as SKF, Volvo, ESAB, Astra Hässle and Mölnlycke. He worked with logotypes, typefaces, packaging and graphic systems, and helped establish corporate identity as an important part of Swedish design.
Many people recognise Curt Dahlén through the municipal logotype of Norrköping. The stylised letter N, which he created in 1984 for the city's 600th anniversary, has become a symbol of Norrköping. The form elegantly captures both the waters of Strömmen, the city's bridges and its factory chimneys in a single simple gesture.
After selling his design company in 1990 he devoted himself entirely to painting. His art is built on geometric forms — lines, fields of colour and cubes that create rhythm and balance. He used clear colours and shadows to produce images that hover between abstract art and landscape. In his paintings he would sometimes introduce small details, such as an eye or a circle, lending them a playful quality.
Travel was also an important source of inspiration. He journeyed with fellow artists and painted on various islands around the world, including Santorini, the Azores, Tjörn and Manhattan. He did not paint these places as they literally appeared, but rather simplified them into colour, light and form.
Curt Dahlén exhibited primarily in the Gothenburg area, but also in Norrköping and other parts of Östergötland. Through his work in both design and painting he has left a clear mark on Swedish visual culture.
Crafoord Auktioner Stockholm has the pleasure of presenting 25 concrete paintings by Curt Dahlén. The works go under the hammer on 4 August and offer a unique opportunity to engage with an artistic practice in which geometry, colour and form take centre stage.