Sara Nilsson: Fågelkvitter

Fågelkvitter, placed in the SSE library, was first exhibited in Notes Toward a Life in Nature at Eva Livijn Art Space, curated by Ulrika Flinck, where Nilsson's contemplative figures inhabited a space poised between everyday life and the surrounding landscape.

Rather than portraying nature as something to be conquered or escaped into, Nilsson’s work emphasizes coexistence, attentiveness, and care. Her sculptures suggest an alternative to the speed and disconnection of contemporary life, inviting reflection on stillness, presence, and our relationship to the natural environment.

Nilsson’s sculptures are created from paper pulp and subsequently shaped, sanded, and painted by hand. Through this process, she develops a distinctive visual language characterized by delicacy, craftsmanship, and quiet intensity.

Her artistic practice draws inspiration from the countercultures of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as from the rural landscape of Värmland where she lives and works. Notes Toward a Life in Nature reflects an ongoing exploration of ways of living that are grounded in reciprocity, observation, and connection to place.

Sara Nilsson (born 1978) lives and works in Olsäter, Värmland. She studied at Konstfack and received her Master of Fine Arts degree in 2007. In recent years, she has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Sweden and internationally.

In 2024, Nilsson was invited to exhibit in the Swedish Pavilion at the Gwangju Biennale in South Korea. She has also completed several public art commissions throughout Sweden.

Fågelkvitter (Birdsong)
Sara Nilsson, 2023
Mixed media
43 × 29 × 29 cm

Fågelkvitter was generously donated to SSE by Elisabeth Brandberg and Mimmi Brandberg.