New acquisition: Portraits without limits by Magnus Laupa, Eric Broms and Fredrik Etoall

Nationalmuseum has acquired several contemporary photographic portraits of prominent Swedes for the Swedish National Portrait Gallery. The acquisitions include works by Magnus Laupa, Eric Broms and Fredrik Etoall. The portraits will be on show in the Crossing Borders exhibition at Stockholm Arlanda Airport, opening on 19 March, and at Gripsholm Castle this summer.

In preparation for the Crossing Borders exhibition at Stockholm Arlanda Airport, Nationalmuseum has acquired a representative selection of contemporary portrait photography for the Swedish National Portrait Gallery. The photographers span multiple generations, from Hans Gedda and Denise Grünstein to Eric Broms, Magnus Laupa and Fredrik Etoall. They all have their own distinct form of expression, taking their cues from advertising and fashion photography, cinema and video. The portraits are consciously staged and are sometimes purely theatrical in character. They include examples of intimacy and distance, of portraits that are up close and personal and those that are formal and official. Several of the portraits suggest that the genre is undergoing a renewal.

The photographs by Fredrik Etoall and Eric Broms feature suggestive cuts. Etoall captured the singer Robyn performing at Peace & Love in Borlänge in 2010. His photo of her outstretched hands is just as much a portrait as a conventional headshot. It exudes the same strength and originality as Robyn’s music. The same characteristics dominate Broms’ powerful portrait of Zlatan Ibrahimović, one of a series produced for the publication of the footballer’s autobiography in 2011. Because the photo has been cropped to show only part of the upper body and head, it suggests the subject is bigger than his surroundings and is destined to transcend boundaries.

For his 2005 portrait of actress Tuva Novotny, Magnus Laupa chose a more classic composition. He combines this with sophisticated humour, playfully alluding to his own profession by kitting out the subject with a camera and a large flash – familiar tools of the documentary photographer’s trade. Who is actually photographing whom?

The Swedish National Portrait Gallery is the oldest of its kind in the world and has been housed at Gripsholm Castle since 1822. It has been part of Nationalmuseum for 140 years. The ever-growing collection comprises almost 5,000 portraits. From the outset, the intention has been to feature subjects who have made valuable contributions to Sweden – the same as the idea behind the Crossing Borders exhibition. For many years, this concept was synonymous with the establishment, consisting mainly of elderly gentlemen. In more recent times, the collection has broadened its selection to include representatives of widely diverse sections of Swedish society.

Now, some of the great figures of our time have joined the collection, in the shape of Robyn, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Tuva Novotny – three Swedes who currently enjoy at least the same degree of international fame as Carl von Linné and August Strindberg did in their day. The acquisition of these contemporary portraits has been made possible by a generous donation from Gripsholmsföreningen (the Society of Friends of Gripsholm Castle).

Further information and press images
Eva-Lena Karlsson, curator, Collections and Swedish National Portrait Gallery
eva-lena.karlsson@nationalmuseum.se, +46 8 5195 4430
Hanna Tottmar, press officer, hanna.tottmar@nationalmuseum.se, +46 767 234632

Caption
Eric Broms, Zlatan Ibrahimović, 2011; Magnus Laupa, Tuva Novotny, 2005.