RUNE HAGBERG. Untitled, composition.

Tempera on partially folded paper. 42.5 x 31 cm.

Exhibited: “I-HUA” - a brush stroke, Konstforum Norrköping.

Provenance: Artist's family

After the end of World War II, a new type of painting emerged in Europe and the United States, Abstract Expressionism and Spontaneism. One of the foremost Swedish representatives of this innovative movement came to be the autodidact Rune Hagberg. Hagberg was born on 28 May 1924 in Uppsala. He trained as a deaf teacher and this took him to Härnösand where he worked as an artist until his death.

It was during his studies in Uppsala that Hagberg hit the artistic path. A few years later, in the early 50s, he got in touch with the Japanese artist Shiryu Morita, who would greatly influence him. The Japanese art and calligraphy are clearly visible in Hagberg's art, as does Zen Buddhism which formed an important part of his life. The works in the auction are fine examples of how these influences were expressed in art.

In keeping with the spontaneity, it was the execution that was the focus of Hagberg's art, rather than the finished artwork. The result was the evocative works that we today associate with him.