Nils G. Stenqvist 1934-2005

Nils Gunnar Stenqvist was born in Brännkyrka Assembly, Stockholm in 1934. He was a Swedish graphic artist, painter and sculptor.

During a painting trip to Greece in 1955 Stenqvist met the Austrian artist Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980) who invited him to attend his Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Arts at the Hohensalzburg Fortress. This 'School of Vision' was founded by Kokoschka in 1953.

Stenqvist returned to Sweden and attended the Konstfackskolan (National College of Art) in Stockholm between 1956 and 1961. In 1958 he spent a year at the Royal College of Art in London. In 1959, the Konstfackskolan moved from it's old building at Beridarebanan to the newly built premises at Valhallavägen.

In 1961, Stenqvist started teaching at the Royal Institute of Art (Konsthögskolan) in Stockholm. In 1973 Stenqvist became their professor of graphic arts (until 1983).

Stenqvist exhibited extensively throughout his life. His first solo exhibition was at a small art salon in Malmö in 1958 - then, most notably in 1963 at Galleri Gummesons (Gummeson Gallery), Stockholm and 1983 at the Academy of Fine Arts (Konstakademien) in Stockholm.

Stenqvist had a retrospective exhibition at Konstnärshuset (Artist House) in Stockholm in 2003.

For several decades, Stenqvist was an important driving force for the development of the modern graphics. Alongside Karl Philip von Schantz (1928-1998), Stenqvist was one of the nine artists who founded the IX Group (IX-Gruppen) in 1964. Their objective was to promote all Swedish graphic arts internationally. Their first exhibition was in Krakow and Zakopane in Poland - followed by exhibitions in Czechoslovakia, West Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, USA, Canada, Mexico and France.

In 1969 they published their book 'IX:s BOK - Nio grafiska berättelser' (IX BOOK - Nine graphic stories) and had a retrospective exhibition at the National Museum (Nationalmuseum) in Stockholm in 1984. The Swedish art critic Carl Gustaf Bjurström (1919-2001) wrote in 1994 that the group had been an important 'chapter in Swedish printmaking history". Following the death of Philip von Schantz, the group disbanded in 2000.

Examples of Stenqvist's works are held in the collections of Moderna Museet, Nationalmuseum, Göteborgs Museum, Norrköpings Museum, Umeå Museum, Östersunds Museum. The British Museum in London, Stafford College of Art, the Konstmuseet Lübeck in Germany and the
Polish Art Museum in Krakow.

Stenqvist died on 4th August 2005 in Haninge, Stockholm County, aged 71.