Elective Affinities

Elective Affinities (Valfrändskaper) is an exhibition based on the encounters between a variety of artistic expressions mutually attracted to each other. Their visual languages are often related in peculiar ways, and in this presentation the artistic processes frequently come to similar conclusions, even if each journey there has been a highly individualistic one.

In Goethe’s novel Elective Affinities of 1809, the author borrows theories from the well-known Swedish 18th-century chemist, Torbern Bergman, and in modern times Gunnar Ekelöf uses the same concept to highlight the attraction between two entities in proximity. The exhibition gives us the opportunity to experience surprising encounters that curator David Neuman sees as profoundly related: elective affinities.

The spatial arrangement of the works is based on a sketch by Otto G. Carlsund. The exhibition presents many new additions to our collection, while at the same time reconnecting with iconic artistic expressions previously exhibited here.