Sven Åke Ekberg
The sculptor Sven Åke Ekberg was born in 1946 in Rörum,
Sweden. Staying true to his Österlen roots, he has lived among
the apple trees in southern Sweden for the whole of his life.
Heating everyday iron wire until it becomes malleable, he then
forms this into shapes upon which to build from both the inside
and out. Small iron clippings are melted and welded to these until
characters engaged in various kinds of activities emerge.
A lanky young fellow lifts some scrap high above his head. A girl
in a short skirt reaches all the way down to her toes so that you
can almost feel the stretch in the backs of her thighs. A man in a
long coat balances steadily on a sturdy iron nail. On another grey
nail stands, rather less certainly, a woman in high heels carrying a
handbag. A girl rides by on her bicycle, a bouquet of tulips clamped
onto her cycle rack. The activities and forms of body language are
seemingly endless and, in each case, expressed with a palpable
sense of humour. His work includes, for instance, old pitchforks
which have been transformed into candelabra. There is a richness
of detail; some elements, such as ties and flowers, have been
painted red, which, at least in my own mind, encourages me to
continue adding colour to these grey iron miniatures.
There is also considerable variation in the positioning of these
small figures. Sometimes they are placed in groups, sometimes
as solo. Some sculptures stand directly on a podium whereas
others are placed on the head of a nail. In some cases, figures
balance on the shanks of nails sticking out of the wall. Other
tiny characters hang from ceilings or are attached to walls using
transparent neon wire. Everything has been thought out with great
care according to the artist’s vision of his figures.