Cultural Summer: Three tips on outdoor art in Sweden

Now we should rather spend time outdoors than indoors - a rule that puts a stop to many cultural experiences, but not to visits to the art parks. Sweden has many art and sculpture parks that can be experienced within the framework of the National Health Authority's virus recommendations.

Dennis Dahlqvist tips on three pieces, all of which contain works of art that in different ways illuminate our situation with the corona:

Contemporary art in the form of sculptures, paintings and installations in various pavilions spread over a large area in Östra Ämtervik, four miles outside Karlstad.

Among the works is Family Therapy by artist Peter Johansson. It represents a true red cabin that can be spun up and down.

- The artwork is really from 2018 but I think it fits very well right now. Many people who quarantine have discovered that it is a rather shaky experience where family relationships can begin to mess, says Dennis Dahlqvist.

Alma Löv Museum opens June 17.

Has existed since 1994 and is located outside Umeå. The park contains works by some forty artists such as Tony Cragg, Louise Bourgeois, Anthony Gormley, Jaume Plensa and Anish Kapoor.

A work that is particularly thought-provoking at this time is A new perspective by the Chinese artist Lin Peng.

- It is a sculpture in the form of a black horse placed on a chimney in an old hospital area. It brings to mind what economists call a black swan, which is a very unusual event that turns upside down on the whole reality, says Dennis Dahlqvist.

The park is open around the clock, year round.

A sculpture exhibition on the Pilane burial ground on the island of Tjörn in Bohuslän. In 2016, Pilane was named one of Europe's best sculpture parks by the British newspaper The Guardian.

Every summer, new works of art are shown, but there is a permanent work: Anna by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa. It depicts a 14 meter high girl's head that looks out over Tjörn - with her eyes closed.

- I think there is something very calm and reassuring in this work of art that I think we need today, says Dennis Dahlqvist.

In the area around the art exhibition there are also many ancient remains from the Iron and Bronze Age. Pilane opened on May 16 and is open until September 20.