Ola Billgren: Le vin herbé II

Ola Billgren (1940–2001) was a Swedish artist, writer, and art theorist. Raised by the artists Hans and Grete Billgren, he developed a multidisciplinary practice that included painting, printmaking, watercolor, collage, photography, film, and scenography. Throughout his career, Billgren explored the relationship between art and reality, often moving between abstraction and representation.

During the 1960s, he shifted from abstract expressionism toward photorealism. Over time, his work developed into a distinctive visual language that combined elements of both traditions. His paintings increasingly focused on atmosphere, light, and color, often depicting landscapes in which forms gradually dissolve into monochromatic or near-monochromatic surfaces.

In the 1990s, Billgren created a series of paintings dominated by deep red surfaces. At first glance, these works appear abstract, but figurative imagery gradually emerges as the viewer spends time with them. Le vin herbé II belongs to this period of his artistic practice.

Billgren was born in Copenhagen in 1940 and died in Malmö in 2001. His work is represented in major public collections including the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris and Moderna Museet in Stockholm. He remains one of the most influential figures in Swedish contemporary art.