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BORN:
1951 in Molnlycke outside Gothenburg.
Lives and works in Stockholm since 1981.
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STUDIES:
Valand
School of Fine Arts1971-76
The Royal University College of fine Arts 1975
Project Student at The Royal University College of fine Arts 2008-09
Special Student at The Royal University College of fine Arts 2009-10
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ARTIST STATEMENT
I
AM A narrative artist. Sometimes my subjects are touching issues like
justice and injustice – typical for that is a series of painted wooden
reliefs where I tell the story of a man who is fined for a parking
offence even though he does not own a car. Trapped in a mixture of red
tape and judicial harassment, the man has to fight alone to prove his
good faith - yet he ends up a victim, convicted and sentenced...
I
love the mix of reality and absurdity and to put it into a beautiful
package like that of the old bells chime or a merry-go-round. But it
can just as well be the face of a woman - from what seems to be just
any piece of wood raises a unique person and in the end we manage to
make eye contact – like a flirtation! And my knees go all weak.
I want to bring out this magic again and again! All day long in my
studio I try to find a way of interpreting what bothers my mind. My aim
is not to give an answer but to open up another way of thinking.
TORSTEN JURELL (Sweden)
By Jacqueline Stare
"Torsten Jurell has worked fulltime as an artist for more than thirty years.
His works often have a historic/literary or current political connection but
that is just one side of his work. He is a deeply committed artist but he is
just as much filled with pleasure in creating beauty and he gets happy when
faced with a beautiful sensual form. A picture where colours harmonize and a
content that speaks about joy and warmth. He plays over a broad spectrum and
his boundless curiosity, coupled with pleasure in his work, is perhaps the
most important propelling force.
No material, neither wood, metal, watercolour, oil nor any graphic technique,
is of preference to Torsten Jurell, just as little as he sticks to a limited
circle of motifs. The motifs are the ones that choose material and through
the materials he searches into forms and colours, through the materials his
works get the expression that he seeks."
BIOGRAPHYTORSTEN
JURELL WORKS in the field of sculpture, painting and graphic art. He
has been exhibiting continuously since 1976 in Sweden and abroad. His
works are featured in private and public collections across Europe, USA
and China.
A number of books have been published with his
works. He writes articles about art and art related to political issues
in papers and art magazines.
Jurell commenced his career as an artist by carving woodcuts and
organising small travelling exhibitions in libraries, factories,
offices and art galleries. That brought him freedom and economic
independence and, ultimately, the opportunity to tackle larger and more
demanding projects.
In 1992 Torsten Jurell turned his attention to the Ossietzky affair, in
which Germany time and time again has trampled rough-shod over justice
to protect the interests of the state.
The work was later purchased by the City of Hamburg whose mayor
presented it to the Carl von Ossietzky City and University Library,
where it hangs today, a symbol of the greater struggle against all
kinds of injustice.
In Sweden Jurell’s triptych about The Dialysis Case
aroused even greater interest and tells the story of a nurse who was
made to take all the blame for an accident which occurred during
dialysis in a hospital.
Bought by the Swedish Nurses’ Union, the bas-relief was exhibited to the public, commented on and shown on television.
As a comment to the situation at the time after 9/11 he started to work on The Trick!
based on an idea of the Bulgakov’s remarkable book Master and
Margarita. 2003 at 9/11 it was exhibited in a big solo show in the
harbour of Gothenburg and in 2006 in a huge solo show at MÁRS Gallery
of Contemporary Art in Moscow.
From small drawings of tiny clay figures in a museum in Zakatekas, Mexico - the work with Three Lost Conquistadors meet Maya became a sculpture group against colonialism and it all continued and developed into another group named The Girls of Calais. They were all exhibited in the solo show inFORMATION
in Stockholm 2008. That summer Torsten Jurell spent a long time in a
studio in BIAC, Beijing where he participated in a group show, worked
in an art project with the Namibian artist Imke Rust and exhibited his
paintings and sculptures in a solo show.
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ABOUT TORSTEN JURELL