Bertil Öhlund 1923-2003
Bertil Alexander Öhlund was born in Solna, Stockholm County on 17th November 1923. He was a Swedish painter and designer.
Öhlund attended Otte Sköld painting school (Otte Skölds Målarskola) in Stockholm (1949), the Académie de la Grande Chaumière - an art school in the Montparnasse district of Paris (1949-1950). Öhlund then remained in Paris briefly and studied under the French sculptor, painter and writer André Lhote (1885-1962) before attending The Royal Institute of Art (Kungliga Konsthögskolan) in Stockholm (1950-1955).
In 1955, Bertil Öhlund married fellow artist Yvonne Antonio-Öhlund (1927-2005)
Öhlund first exhibited in Paris in 1957. The exhibition was well received by the critics who likened his work to that of Victor Vasarely (1906-1997) and Auguste Herbin (1882-1960). The Swedish art critic T. Bergmark later wrote that Öhlund had an 'ability to unite a lyrical light painting with a firm, clear and strong palette and that this 'always leads to beautiful results (Dagens Nyheter 15/9/62)
Öhlund other solo exhibitions include Galerie Creuze, Paris (1957 and 1961), Liège (1958), La Peinture Nordique Contemporaine, Paris (1958), Örebro - alongside with his wife, Yvonne Antonio-Öhlund (1960), Gallery Prisma, Stockholm (1962), the Color and Form (Färg och Form) Gallery, Stockholm (1963) and Galerie Bleu, Stockholm (1966)
Group exhibitions include the Swedish Public Art Association salons in Stockholm (1952, 1954, 1956, 1957), Kristianstad Museum (1952), Berlin Museum (1954), The Stockholm Salons (Stockholmssalongerna) at Liljevalchs konsthall (1959, 1962 and 1963), at Galerie Creuze (1957-62) and as part of the Fifth International Halmark Art Award, a traveling exhibition which visited 36 museums and galleries throughout the United States of America (1960-62)
Examples of Öhlunds work are held in the collections of the National Museum (Stockholm) and the Hallmark Museum (New York, USA) and the Örebro Museum (Örebros Länsmuseum). Öhlund was a member of the Swedish Artists National Organisation and the Artists' Club in Stockholm.
Bertie Öhlund died in 2003, aged 79.
