Barbro Östlihn: New York Imprint – Photos from an exhibition

April 20, 2022

I never heard of Barbro Östlihn before visiting Gothenburg. However, discovering artists unknown to me is always one of the greatest pleasures of traveling. The day I visited the fantastic Gothenburg Museum of Art, I saw Östlihn’s name on a banner. There was an exhibition dedicated to her oeuvre, and I was curious to learn more. The exhibition’s name was Barbro Östlihn: New York Imprint.

If you’ve been following the blog, you know that I sometimes write about art. However, I’m not an art critic; I’m just someone who enjoys visiting museums around the world. That said, in this article, you’ll find some information about Östlihn’s art, and you’ll see photos from the exhibition. If you’re interested in reading more about Barbro Östlihn, you’ll find links to people writing about her oeuvre at the bottom of this post.

Let’s start.

Barbro Östlihn: New York Imprint

Yellow Arrows Barbro Östlihn painting — “Yellow Arrows,” by Barbro Östlihn

The exhibition Barbro Östlihn: New York Imprint runs in Gothenburg’s Museum of Art between March 12 and September 25, 2022. It is one of the most significant exhibitions dedicated to her oeuvre. There are more than 40 of her works in the museum, and it’s the first time they have been presented in Gothenburg.

Who was Barbro Östlihn?

Barbro Östlihn was born in Stockholm in 1930. After finishing her art studies, Östlihn moved to New York in 1961. First, she explored the area of Manhattan extensively and photographed its impressive buildings. Then, she started creating paintings dealing with architecture and public space based on these photos. Barbro Östlihn was really active in the New York art scene, and she became friends with artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Claes Oldenburg, Frank Stella, and Roy Lichtenstein.

In 1976, Östlihn moved to Paris with her partner. She kept developing her style, and while New York’s influence remained present in her work, she also implemented details from the Paris facades. Barbro Ostlihn stayed in Paris until her death in 1995.

What was her painting style?

Barbro Östlihn had a unique yet distinct painting style. That’s probably why her status in Sweden’s art history remained unclear for a long time. Despite being slowly recognized as one of the most important Swedish artists of the 20th century, for a long time, she remained relatively unknown.

Östlihn mainly dealt with surfaces, urban space, and architecture. Her style is primarily abstract, but her aesthetics confused the art world. For a long time, she was assumed as a pop art painter and not an abstract expressionist; the latter was probably more suitable. Her association with pop art was perhaps due to her marriage in 1960 to the Pop artist Öyvind Fahlström.

Although it’s always hard to categorize artists, one could say that Barbro Östlihn was also close to Precisionism. This was an American modern art movement celebrating a landscape consisting of skyscrapers, factories, bridges, etc. The new urban space lies in this movement’s heart, and Östlihn thoroughly explored its emergence.

Barbro Östlihn: Photos from the Gothenburg exhibition

So, in this section, you’ll see some of my photos from Östlihn’s exhibition in Gothenburg’s Art Museum. There are more than 40 of her works on display. Some of the photos are closeups, while others show the room and the arrangement of the paintings.

Trinidad Barbro Östlihn painting — “Trinidad,” by Barbro Östlihn

New Jersey Zink 1967 Ostlihn — New Jersey Zink (1967)

Barbro Östlihn Drottningholmsparken 1965 detail — Drottningholmsparken (1965). A detail from the painting.

As you can see, the motifs described earlier in the article offer a unique field for experimentation for the artist. The urban space, architecture, and patterns are everywhere in her work. In addition, most of her paintings are large scale, allowing her to fill them with details and motifs.