Ernst Billgren at Nationalmuseum Blending Tradition with Modern Creativity

Nationalmuseum is set to present Ernst Billgren – New Memories, an exhibition featuring several new works by one of Sweden’s most prominent artists. In this collection, Billgren challenges the unspoken rules and expectations of the art world, blending traditional art historical motifs with references to pop culture and kitsch.

The exhibition will showcase approximately two dozen of Billgren’s works, where the artist playfully engages with classical painting traditions. Among these pieces, Billgren offers his own interpretation of iconic works from the museum’s collection, including the renowned painting Bringing Home the Body of King Karl XII of Sweden. The exhibition will take place in a single gallery on the museum’s fourth floor, running from 10 April to 28 September.

Born in Stockholm in 1957, Billgren rose to prominence in the mid-1980s, even before graduating from Gothenburg’s Valand Academy of Art and Design. He played a significant role in the emergence of postmodernism in Sweden, alongside artists such as Max Book, Ingrid Orfali, and Dan Wolgers. His witty approach to both modernist traditions and popular culture became one of the defining artistic voices of the decade.

Billgren’s body of work is notable for its remarkable variety. He explores numerous art forms, including painting, sculpture, and graphic art, often combining diverse materials such as oil paint, glass, tiles, and wood. His imagery frequently draws inspiration from myths and sagas, with recurring themes of animals depicted in natural settings and contemporary interiors.

Ernst Billgren – New Memories features several new works that reference classical paintings from the museum’s collections. Elements of 19th-century Romanticism appear in his paintings, often portrayed as grand ships and Gothic cathedrals. However, in Billgren’s interpretation, the drama of Romanticism takes on an absurd quality — with ships sailing straight through the cathedral’s choir. Some of his series reflect Baroque landscape paintings and still lifes, yet their motifs gradually deteriorate and collapse into chaotic finales.

Many of the paintings in the exhibition draw direct inspiration from Nationalmuseum’s own collection. One standout example is Billgren’s reinterpretation of Gustaf Cederström’s Bringing Home the Body of King Karl XII of Sweden, where the artist offers his unique take on the famous scene.

Reflecting on his creative process, Billgren remarked, “When I paint others’ works, I’m unaffected by my own aesthetic taste, which leaves me much freer. I’m able to paint just about anything then. We are dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants. This is a way of breathing new life into the painting, skills, and ideals of generations past, only with a new story.”