Stockholms Auktionsverk presents a collection of works by Björn Erling Evensen (1924–2021). The sale comprises around twenty works from the artist’s estate, where the boundary between painting and sculpture becomes fluid.

Evensen described artistic creation as a process driven by uncertainty — a search for an expression that cannot be fully verbalised, where surprise and doubt are essential conditions for beauty.

Born in Stockholm, he spent part of his childhood in Germany and witnessed the rise of Nazism. These early experiences of political violence shaped his worldview and artistic stance. He regarded art as a space for exploring existential questions without the need for definitive answers.

He studied in Stockholm and London, undertaking study trips to Paris, Berlin, Rome, and Palermo. He debuted internationally in London in the early 1960s and later exhibited extensively in New York. In Sweden, he participated in exhibitions such as Young Draftsmen at Nationalmuseum in 1951.

Working across painting, sculpture, and installation, Evensen frequently explored motifs such as the gate and the cross — symbols of transition, intersection, and change. Materiality was central: steel, wood, textile, and paper were bent, twisted, and transformed, often shifting character in unexpected ways. Chance played a vital role, as the work evolved beyond its initial idea.

Alongside his independent practice, Evensen completed major public commissions in Sweden and abroad, including Drottningen och hennes skepp in Stockholm, the seven-metre steel sculpture Spirit in New York, and the sounding sculpture series Gateways in Oslo and Perth. He also collaborated across disciplines with composers, poets, and dancers.

In his later years, Evensen was based on Gotland. He is regarded as one of Sweden’s most significant post-war sculptors, with a practice centred on form, material memory, and unresolved existential inquiry.