Björn Lövin’s (1937–2009) multi-faceted body of work consists of installations,
paintings, sculptures, texts and videos. Through his environments, which have
previously been presented at institutions such as Moderna Museet and
Kulturhuset in Stockholm, and Centre Pompidou in Paris, he became one of
Sweden’s first installation artists. From the 1970s onwards, he continuously
explored changes in society by revealing the gap between welfare and consumer
society and marginalized groups, while probing the relationship between the
individual and the collective, between image and reality, as well as what emerges
when they meet and the lines between them are erased. Lövin’s practice was
marked by a constant, almost archaeological investigation and idea-driven
approach, which often formed the basis of his environments.
Björn Lövin was born in Falun in 1937. In his youth he studied in Barcelona,
later attending Stockholm University and Uppsala University to study educa-
tion, scientific theory and information technology. Despite his lack of formal
artistic training, he had his first exhibition at Galleri Mejan in 1970, an early
version of the more comprehensive exhibition Consumer in Eternity and “Mr P’s
Hoard” that was presented at Moderna Museet the following year. Lövin was
also active as a guest lecturer at the Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Royal
Institute of Art in Stockholm in the 1970s and 1980s.
Lövin’s solo exhibitions include 441/∞=P (Galleri Mejan, Stockholm, 1970),
Consumer in Eternity and “Mr P’s Hoard” (Moderna Museet, Stockholm, 1971),
In Memoriam (Göteborgs Konsthall, Liljevalchs konsthall, 1972–1973), Memory
Fails (Kulturhuset, Stockholm, 1977), L’Image (Centre Pompidou, Paris, 1981),
On the Personal (Moderna Museet, 1987), C—The Struggle for Reality
(Kulturhuset, Stockholm; Malmö Konsthall, 1988; Brandts Klædefabrik, Odense;
Galleria Otso, Esbo; Kulturhuset, Saint Petersburg; Linköpings Konsthall,
1989–1991), Möten med vatten (Galleri Göran Engström, Stockholm, 2004) and
Focus on: Mr P, Dr Löwenskjöld and Björn Lövin (Moderna Museet, 2004).
Lövin participated in several group exhibitions including Live Show (Moderna
Museet, 1974), Live Show II (Kunstmuseum Luzern, 1977), Ibid II (München-
bryggeriet, Stockholm, 1982), Korrespondenser—ett samtal med Baudelaire
(Swedish Exhibition Agency, 1987), Equinox: Aspects of Swedish Contemporary
Art (The Edmonton Art Gallery, Alberta, 1989), Arte Amazonas (Museu de Arte
Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, 1992), Klima Global/Arte Amazonas (Staatliche
Kunsthalle, Berlin; Kunsthalle Siemens, Dresden; Ludwig Forum, Aachen,
1993–1994), Revir (Kulturhuset, Stockholm, 1994), Alone Together (Liljevalchs
konsthall, 1996); Avesta Art (Avesta, 1997), Hemort—Chez Nous (Gallery of
Athens, Athens; Dalarnas museum, Falun; Chartreuse de Mélan, Taninges,
1999), History Acts (Göteborgs Konsthall, 2008), Svensk konceptkonst (Kalmar
konstmuseum, 2010), Image at Work (Index Foundation, Stockholm, 2010), The
Moderna Exhibition—Society Acts (Moderna Museet, Malmö, 2014), Samhälls-
maskinen—industriåldern ur konstens perspektiv (Malmö Konst­ museum, 2016).
Björn Lövin is represented in the collections of Moderna Museet, the Public Art
Agency Sweden and Verket Avesta.