Artwork: Diagonal

Folke Truedsson was a teacher of woodwork who changed careers to train as an artist. He attended the Royal College of Art in Stockholm and studied with Eric Grate. For a long time he strived to find a perfect naturalism in his art, but later his vision changed and he spent many years trying to achieve a free, abstract form; he was at the forefront of non-representational sculpture in Sweden.

He often used materials such as bronze, stone and concrete in his sculptures. Initially a painter, it was only in the mid-1950s that he turned to sculpture.

In Värnamo, he created the sculpture ‘Diagonal’ in gilded aluminium. It stands in a residential area at Trälleborgsparken. “The forms should express or contribute to creating an atmosphere beyond the forms. That is the actual content. If you want art to have a meaning, it is important to create an atmosphere that affects people.” Folke Truedsson on himself, form and art. He has also made ‘Sluten Bågform’ (Closed Curve), in Bronzetto pink, which is in Rydaholm’s library. ‘Diagonal’ was purchased by the Municipality of Värnamo in 1968.