Oil painting crafted by Hans Osswald

Oil painting on board by Hans Osswald. 

Hans Osswald (1919 – 1983) was born in Örebro, Sweden. An early exhibition at Louis Hahne’s art shop in Stockholm in 1947 (a space where other notable contemporary Swedish painters also showed their work) was followed by solo exhibitions in Örebro and Kalmar. His work was also included in group exhibitions, such as the prestigious Dalarna Art Association, and in a travelling show with Konstfrämjandet, or with Art Promotion, a Swedish collective formed in 1947 by artists and writers that pushed back against cheap mass reproduction of original art works. Instead, colour lithographs were made by members of the group, which included Osswald along with other mid-century Swedish painters like Isaac Grünewald and Torsten Billman. 

Osswald’s work utilises strong shapes and colours to represent subjects from family life to landscapes to the animal world. Although sometimes mobilised with abstract undertones, Osswald’s paintings are imbued with a sense of familiarity. His scenes of everyday life strike a balance between muted earth tones and highlights of colour. This piece, symbolic and subtle in its representation of a seascape, brings together a palette of blue tones with textured and layered oil paints.