Albert Johansson (1926-1998)
1961
Oil and concrete dust on canvas
39 3⁄4” x 29 1⁄4”

The son of a Lapland farmer, Albert Johansson ran away from boarding school at 13, making his way in the world until a library visit inspired him to become an artist. He trained at the Modern Art School in Stockholm.

He played with different media, as we see in this painting which, in its building up of concrete dust on the canvas, approaches bas-relief. The abstracted male and female figures have a totemic quality.

Johansson’s works are in the collections of the Gothenburg Art Museum, Kalmar Art Museum, and the National Museum in Stockholm.