"My images deal a lot with reality distortion, about idylls that are not what they seem to be," said Dick Bengtsson himself in a rare newspaper interview in 1983, six years before his death. The paintings with swastikas he made during the 1960s and 1970s, when much remained to be said about Sweden's role during World War II.
It's very exciting to see how his art is received today, it's a social commentary that is highly relevant. His art almost pokes us in the eye.
Dick Bengtsson was a self-taught artist who long had his studio at home in the living room. Almost 20 years ago, his art was shown on black walls at the Modern Museum. At Sven-Harry's, he is exhibited (3/4 to 14/9) in strong daylight and in an exhibition that has been given the title "What No One Wants to See".
Swastikas
The swastikas have over the years caused some to turn their backs on his art, notes Ann-Sofi Noring, former unit manager at the Modern Museum, in the catalogue.
The staff at Sven-Harry's are also prepared for strong reactions.
I can willingly acknowledge that we have had internal discussions about how we and our museum guides should behave if people who come here become upset. The most important thing for us is – one: he was not a Nazi – two: this is an artist with an uncompromising view of his contemporary time, says Dragana Kusoffsky Maksimovic.
Dream Kitchen
"Hitler's Dream Kitchen" becomes, at first glance, a nearly humorous painting where the Führer daydreams about a 1970s kitchen in green and brown. Here, Dick Bengtsson has, as often otherwise, used an advertisement image as a template. Dragana Kusoffsky Maksimovic sees "ambiguity and sharp social criticism".
As museum director, she has daily encountered the painting "House with Swastika and Spade" which Sven-Harry's owns. The beautiful landscape glimmers, but in the house windows, thin swastikas can be seen, and from the frame, a toy spade hangs. A reference to childhood idyll or an invitation to dig beneath the surface?
Many do not see the symbols, she says, referring to the spade and swastika. Herself, she sees a way to awaken emotional conflicts to life.
In the parallel exhibition "Here We Are Now", Sven-Harry's lets 15 contemporary artists take over, including Mamma Andersson and Jens Fänge – both clearly inspired by Dick Bengtsson.
We really want to talk about why art is important not just as a storyteller but as a force that can force us to face ourselves.
Born in 1936 in Stockholm's southern suburbs and grew up in a working-class home. Attended school for eight years and then worked for ten years as a clerk at the Post Office. Took a drawing course, but according to Ann-Sofi Noring's catalogue text, it was rather jazz music that had significance for his artistic development. Painted for a long time at home in the living room.
Got his breakthrough at the end of the 1960s and became a substitute professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1977. The same year, he moved to Voxna, Hälsingland, where his house and a large part of his paintings were destroyed in a fire in 1982. Died at the age of 53.
