Åke Pallarp is one of few who always makes a solid impression through the development phases of the arts. During the 1950’s, Pallarp developed a radical form of abstraction where heavy volumes, strict alignment and high coloring took place alongside the personal narrative. The tension between the stillness of the form and the rage of the color got the surface to vibrate. The boundary between painting and sculpture was dissolved when the canvas were replaced by rough bits of wood, taken from their original environments. The grain of the wood is transformed by Pallarp’s brush into a story about nature and people. In "Red Gable" from 2010 an old wooden bed gable is transformed into a red house gable- the object is converted from a safe resting place into a shield against a white icy, bottomless fog. The painting shows Pallarp’s rural poetry at it's peak.

Åke Pallarp oeuvre is full of paradoxes and opposites. A sensuous folklore takes place next to an austere abstraction. The delicate and light go hand in hand with the powerful and strict seriousness is mixed with gentle humor. The surface gets more and more dissolved and the increasingly thin, hard-driven contour line is gaining space. The contrast between nature and construction is accentuated and Åke Pallarp’s expression remains as firm as always.


Professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Stockholm 1971-1981
Member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Sweden


EDUCATION

University College of Arts Crafts and Design, 1951-1953
The Royal University College of Fine Arts, Stockholm, Sweden 1954-1959


COLLECTIONS

Moderna Museet, Stockholm
Göteborg Konstmuseum, Göteborg
Malmö Museum, Malmö
Borås Konstmuseum, Borås

PUBLIC COMMISSIONS

Swedeish Embassy in Tokyo, Japan
Expo'92 Sevilla, Spain
Stockholm Post terminal Tomteboda, Sweden
Industrial Plant, Linköping, Sweden
Subway Station Stadion, Stockholm
Huddinge Hospital, Stockholm
Garnisonen, Stockholm
Sculpture E-betong, Linköping, Sweden
The Police headquarters, Linköping, Sweden
Water Tower, Nacka, Sweden