Claes Eklundh, artist and painter, was born in 1944 in Malmö, in the southernmost Sweden, neighbour to Copenhagen.
He was born in a conservative and strict bourgeois family as the oldest of three. Even as a child he felt alienated from most of his surroundings, including the prevailing values and general views on life in his home country.
From his early teens he started travelling throughout Europe, with it’s historic cradles, and later also to North Africa. The encounter with the colossal ancient buildings in Egypt became a tipping point in his life and a trigger for his artistic career.
His artistic studies began at the Royal Academy of Arts in Stockholm (1965–70), continued with the Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen (1975–76) and were completed at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence (1977–1978).
During these years he was often looked at as untimely and obstinate. One of the few persons he felt confident in was the much respected grand old man of Swedish art life; the academy member and longtime head of Thielska Galleriet, Ulf Linde. They became close and Linde once described Eklundh as “obsessed with his own independence”.
Consequently, and despite the high level of education, Eklundh still considers himself autodidact as a painter. That being said mentors have been central for his artistic development, including some of the greatest pioneers through art history: Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Matisse and Pollock, to name a few.
Since 1964 Claes Eklundh has lived and worked in Florence, Rome, Paris, Berlin and New York City; cities that all had a strong attraction on him and also came to influence his painting in a profound way.
Side by side with traveling, philosophy and literature, music has been an important companion in Eklundh’s life and creation. Both classical and modern, traditional and groundbreaking, but perhaps jazz more than any other genre.
In recent years, Claes Eklundh has had many collaborations with prominent musicians such as pianist Hans Pålsson and trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger.
Over the decades, Eklundh’s artistic expression has wandered back and forth between what could be described as classicism, expressionism, symbolism, abstract expressionism and neo-classicism. However uncertain if the artist himself would agree. He would rather argue that art only can be fully experienced without time-bound labels and classifications.
Claes Eklundh has, since his active career started, exhibited extensively in Europe and North America. He is among many other institutions permanently represented at the British Museum in London and the Nationalmuseum and Moderna Museet in Stockholm.
1992 he was elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts.
Since some years back he has returned to his place of birth and currently resides in Malmö.
In recent years he has been less visible in galleries and art galleries. You could say that he turned his back on the art world. At the same time, recent years have meant a painterly explosion and productivity that is only matched by the years in Berlin and New York.
When writing this the still prevailing pandemic seems to have sparkled further inspiration and power to the artistic creation. Some of the strongest, colorful and most original paintings by Eklundh are so new that the oil paint is still wet.
/Henrik & Matilda, 11th of August 2021, Malmö