Family – For Better or Worse: Marking 15 Years of Sven-Harrys Konstmuseum

She continues:

‘Sven-Harry believed strongly in the power of art to enrich people’s lives. His vision was to create a place where art, design, craft, architecture and everyday life could meet in a natural and inclusive way. He became one of Sweden’s leading master builders, known for creating sustainable family homes, and assembled one of the country’s finest private art collections – a collection he ultimately chose to give away in its entirety. For Sven-Harry, it was all connected, rooted in a deeply humanistic outlook. That idea still guides the museum today. The building itself reflects this vision, combining exhibition spaces with a replica of his home and collection to create a more intimate and distinctive encounter with art. Our exhibitions continue to build on Sven-Harry’s humanistic perspective, presenting art that speaks to both personal experience and broader cultural questions.’

In the current exhibition at Sven-Harrys Konstmuseum, ‘Family – For Better or Worse’, this perspective is brought into focus. The exhibition examines how identities and personal histories are shaped by family – a concept both universal and deeply complex.

Families are fundamental to human life, shaping who we are and how we move through the world. It is a theme that returns repeatedly, raising the same questions across time. Initiated by Kusoffsky Maksimovic, the exhibition reflects this continuity:

‘This year marks fifteen years since Sven-Harry Karlsson opened the museum and his collection to the public, and the exhibition feels especially meaningful in that context. Family – For Better or Worse speaks directly to one of the museum’s core ideas: that art should remain close to life and to human experience. By focusing on family – something that touches all of us – the exhibition connects personal experience with artistic expression across time.’

‘It is also significant on a personal level. Earlier this year, we lost Sven-Harry, the founder of the museum. The theme of family felt like a natural way to reflect on the emotional ties that shape our lives, something he often spoke about. He was open about his difficult childhood and found refuge in art, in artists such as Hill, Schjerfbeck, Strindberg and Josephson, who made him feel at home. In that sense, the exhibition not only marks the museum’s fifteenth anniversary but also becomes a tribute to Sven-Harry himself. My hope is that it will reveal the complexity of family relationships while also creating a sense of recognition and connection – because in different ways, we all carry our family histories with us, whether we want to or not.’

The exhibition brings together 49 artists and 81 works spanning two centuries, exploring family as a site of closeness, tension and vulnerability. As Kusoffsky Maksimovic notes:

‘The exhibition began to take shape around the idea of family as a universal yet deeply complex experience, something that affects all of us, whether we want it to or not. From the outset, we wanted to explore how artists across different periods have addressed family relationships: as a place of belonging and closeness, but also of tension, vulnerability and sometimes abandonment. We were also interested in how family relationships shape the lives of artists themselves, and how those experiences are often channelled into their work.

Despite major shifts in society and artistic expression, many of the emotional themes surrounding family remain strikingly constant. In the selected works, we kept discovering the same fragilities and the same bonds, regardless of time and expression. Ultimately, my hope is that visitors will recognise something of their own stories in the works, because although our experiences differ, we all carry our family histories with us, and in art those stories can meet and perhaps even connect us.’

Dragana Kusoffsky Maksimovic has curated the exhibition together with Magnus af Petersens, who is also part of Market Art Fair’s Selection Committee.

‘We have chosen art that we felt had something to say, or that is simply moving and strong, so it has been a rather intuitive process. We didn’t set out with a specific argument but rather wanted to create an assemblage of different ways of relating to and expressing the complex aspects of family – some warm and loving, others more troubled. Often, the feelings they mirror or evoke are mixed.’

With a focus on artists based in Sweden, the exhibition moves between historical and contemporary perspectives. As af Petersens continues to explain:

‘As the focus is on contemporary art by artists based in Sweden, we can see examples of how the family is regarded in our own times. This can be compared with the works of Carl Larsson, which depict family life in his and Karin Larsson’s home, Lilla Hyttnäs, where the children are often playing and at the centre of attention – something quite new at the time and inspired by Ellen Key’s ideas. At the same time, it was a rather idyllic vision of the family.

Later, with the second wave of the women’s movement, artists like Anna Sjödahl began making work that also showed less idealised everyday family situations. Contemporary artist Sixten Sandra Österberg paints queer family constellations that would not have been accepted a few generations ago – and are still questioned by some.’

‘Family – For Better or Worse’ is on view until 13 September. During the fair week, the exhibition offers a moment to step outside the fair. Here, works by Nordic contemporary artists such as Marie-Louise Ekman, Helene Billgren, Jan Håfström and Karin Mamma Andersson are shown alongside Swedish masters including Siri Derkert, Carl Larsson, Ivar Arosenius and Nils Dardel.

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