Thomas Sandell

March 12, 2025 - April 12, 2025

Stockholm

Carling Dalenson is pleased to announce an exhibition with the iconic Swedish architect, designer and artist, Thomas Sandell. The first show to date, to thoroughly spotlight his illustrations, paintings and drawings.

Opening on March 12, 2025, in Stockholm, this exhibition includes 20 unique works, completed in the last few years.

“In elementary school Ursviksskolan, My drawing teacher, Arne, gave us the task of creating a drawing to raise awareness about the famine disaster in Biafra.

Like most of my friends, I saw drawing class as a kind of break from the more demanding subjects—a moment where one could, without pressure, secretly sketch poor caricatures of a teacher when the actual assignment was a still life of a fruit basket. But suddenly, something changed. Drawing started to feel fun and meaningful to me. I painted a picture that won a national competition, depicting a starving child from Biafra. That image later became a poster displayed in many school cafeterias across the country.

Right then and there, thanks to Arne, I realized and appreciated that images can mean so much more than just a break or an escape from real life.

Eventually, I chose a profession where images and drawing are central to me. I draw every day—on any kind of paper that happens to be nearby, but mostly in my A4-format sketchbook. Sometimes, my sketches are completely incomprehensible to others, serving as rough drafts for more or less finished presentation images.

At its best, my thoughts and hand work in perfect symbiosis.

I also often draw without a specific purpose or clearly defined final result—more like a meditative craft, where I endlessly repeat lines that slowly grow into images. In the end, an image emerges that might still hold some meaning for me.

The images and furniture I am now exhibiting at Carling Dalenson all have a connection to nature as I have experienced it. It could be the archipelago or the mountains. A fishing trip to Tjuonajokk in the Kiruna mountains with some friends became the starting point for a series of images in which I interpret nature as I saw it. These are simply my memories of a magnificent mountain landscape or a warm spring hillside where twigs and last year’s leaves become important elements in my pictures.

I spent some time at Villa San Michele in Capri, where the view from my terrace became a painting.

I got the idea for the Löv cabinet and the Jäckvik table while working on my drawings. Could I transfer my motifs onto a cabinet and a coffee table? Intarsia was a solution, and one of the best carpentry workshops in the country, KFK, was able to help me. The result was fantastic. I am making three of each cabinet and table, and every piece is unique in its motif and inlay.

I find immense joy and satisfaction in expressing myself, and I do so through my houses, interiors, furniture, products, and now images.

This is my world that you are stepping into, and I hope I can convey the joy and gratitude I feel for having had Arne as my drawing teacher.”

- Thomas Sandell