Two large abstract paintings in Gustav Hjelmgren's studio

Current — In the Studio

Work in Progress

New paintings taking shape in the studio — a continuation of the language explored in Maitri.

Enter the Studio
Installation view of Maitri exhibition at Larsen / Warner gallery, Stockholm

Latest Exhibition · Larsen / Warner, Stockholm · 15 January — 14 February

Maitri

A solo exhibition exploring loving kindness — soft, undulating forms as a quiet counterforce to the unrest of the world.

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Gustav Hjelmgren seated in front of a large Dalmatin painting in his studio

The Art Bystander Exhibition No.3 · Stockholm · 10 September 2025

Dalmatin

A series about playfulness, intuition and the warmth of being together. The Dalmatian — energetic, social, alive to every signal — became a private vocabulary for a way of looking that is unhurried, curious, and quietly delighted by the world. A childhood memory of the artist's mother's dog, returned as paint.

Curated by Roland-Philippe Kretzschmar · Blugiallo Tvåtrappor, Birger Jarlsgatan 2

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Presence #002 — concentric circular painting by Gustav Hjelmgren

Group Exhibition · Eric Firestone Gallery, New York

My My,
Hey Hey

Presence #002 included in My My, Hey Hey — a group exhibition gathering a generation of painters working with form, repetition and chromatic devotion.

View at Firestone ↗
Gustav Hjelmgren in front of a large hand-painted oil work from the Fri Hand series, 2023

Past Solo Exhibition · Galleri Torekov · 2023

Fri Hand

A milestone in the practice — the introduction of the hand as primary tool. Working in oil on linen, in formats from 10 × 10 cm to 196 × 235 cm, each painting becomes a direct exchange between artist and surface: spontaneous, present, unguarded.

Rooted in the early abstract expressionists and built layer upon layer, the works celebrate the freedom to make without the demand for exactness — a quiet insistence on personal expression.

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Installation view of Abstract Layers by Gustav Hjelmgren at Galleri Duerr, 2019

Past Solo Exhibition · Galleri Duerr, Stockholm · 7 February — 3 March 2019

Abstract
Layers

An early solo presentation — squeegee-built paintings layered while wet, then allowed to settle. Many layers, like a lifetime: harmony found in unexpected combinations.

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Large red and black abstract painting by Gustav Hjelmgren — Gerhard Richter abstract study

Early Work · 2016 — 2019

Gerhard Richter
Abstract Study

An early body of work made when I first began to paint — large squeegee-built canvases pulled wet across wet, layered until colour and accident found each other. The studies were a way of learning by doing, drawn from a deep admiration for Gerhard Richter and his abstract method: chance set in motion, then allowed to resolve.

In 2016 the work caught the attention of the American art critic Jerry Saltz, who gave it an early shout-out — a small but meaningful turn that confirmed the path forward.

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Gustav Hjelmgren painting a permanent wall mural at Scandic Malmen, Stockholm

Public Commission · Scandic Malmen, Stockholm · 2025

Mural

A permanent wall mural at Scandic Malmen — a wandering composition of arches, lanterns and concentric suns, painted directly onto the wall over several weeks.

Enquire about a commission

“A state of presence and loving kindness — a quiet counterforce to the unrest and hardships of the world. Soft, undulating, slippery forms that seem almost animated in movement, never agitated, never frantic.”

On Maitri