Versatile Facets of Stig Lindberg

VERSATILE FACETS OF

STIG LINDBERG

jacksons.se

FOREWORD

Over the past few months, an exhibition of various works by Stig Lindberg was on show at our gallery at Sibyllegatan 53 in Stockholm. The stories, interactions and acknowledgements with viewers were heartwarming. Stig Lindberg represents a sense of nostalgia for many Swedes, whose childhood was filled with the colourful painted ceramics. It is now, 40 years after his death, that Jacksons wants to highlight the versatile facets of this multidisciplinary designer. Not surprisingly, his works are collected all over the world.

Jacksons specializes in the best of Scandinavian and international vintage design 1900 - 2000. Established in 1981, Jacksons have built one of the most extensive collections of 20th century Scandinavian and International vintage design, consistently offering rare and museum quality examples. In addition to private collectors, our pieces are located within the collections of major museums and public institutions internationally.

Jacksons

March 2023

GUSTAVSBERGS STUDIO

Just outside the city of Stockholm, on the islands of the archipelago, lies a ceramic factory dating back to the 17th century. It was here, at Gustavsberg, where Stig Lindberg spent most of his career. The Gustavsbergs Studio was founded in the early 1940s on the initiative of Wilhelm Kåge and Stig Lindberg themselves. The studio was intended to give artists a means of free expression, and provide them with the facilities to experiment. The studio was the one that gave Gustavsberg an association with ‘Design’, rather than industrial, ceramic products. It was at Gustavsbergs Studio that several well-known works were created, such as Kåge’s ‘Farsta’ series, or Berndt Friberg’s glazed ceramics. Under a different name, Gustavsbergs Studio continues to form a a source of inspiration, a platform for established artists, and a assembly point for creativity.

Stig Lindberg

Set of 5 Miniature Vases

One from 1965, the others from 1969

Hand thrown glazed stoneware with carving

Each inscribed ‘STIG L’ with Gustavsberg Studio Hand

Produced by Gustavsberg

Stig Lindberg

Vase

1963

Impressed and glazed stoneware

Inscribed ‘STIG L’ with Gustavsberg studio hand, impressed ‘GUSTAVSBERG’

Produced by Gustavsberg

Stig Lindberg

Vase

1960s

Impressed and glazed stoneware

Inscribed ‘STIG L’ with Gustavsberg studio hand, impressed ‘GUSTAVSBERG’

Produced by Gustavsberg

Stig Lindberg

Vase

1960s

Glazed stoneware

Inscribed ‘STIG L’ with Gustavsberg studio hand

Produced by Gustavsberg

Stig Lindberg

Large Vase

Glazed stoneware. Inscribed decoration

Inscribed ‘STIG L’ with Gustavsberg studio hand

Produced by Gustavsberg

Stig Lindberg

Set of Five Vases

Executed between 1953-1956

Glazed stoneware

Inscribed ‘STIG L’ with Gustavsberg studio hand

Produced by Gustavsberg

Stig Lindberg

Faience Vase

1940s

Hand painted tin glaze

Inscribed ‘STIG L’ with Gustavsberg studio hand and ‘hand drejad’ (hand thrown)

Produced by Gustavsberg

¨I am passing from a flourishing surrealism, prompted by a youthful inclination, to a more severe, pure shape a growth that must be ascribed to the fact that I am growing older and more serious-minded.¨

- Stig Lindberg -

CERAMIC WALLS

While Stig Lindberg focused a lot on smaller works early in his career, later in his working life he began to focus on rather large threedimensional works. Three commissions in the early 1960s gave him more confidence in this area. After that, he was more involved in these kinds of assignments. One commission included a 38-metre-long and 3-metre-high wall in a hospital in Nacka, Stockholm. For this extremely large work, he used models of different entities and the sand casting technique devised by Anders Bruno Liljefors at Gustavsbergs.

Smaller ceramic walls and tiles were also made, which could be used in domestic rooms. They often contained illustrative figures, repeated in different shades, colours and glazes. Recognisable is the playful style he develops, which can be derived from the children’s book illustrations he made during the same period.

Stig Lindberg

Wall Plaque

1972

Incised, carved and painted ceramic. Details in a shiny glaze

Impressed on the back ¨FRÅN KONSUM STOCKHOLM 1972¨

Incised artists signature on the front ¨Stig L¨

Produced by Gustavsberg

Stig Lindberg

Set of Four Tiles

1970s

Glazed stoneware

Each impressed with ‘Stig L’ and impressed with makers mark

Produced by Gustavsberg Studio

Stig Lindberg

Wall Sculpture

1950s

Glazed ceramic, design in relief Artists signature

Produced by Gustavsberg Studio

GUSTAVSBERG

Unlike Gustavsbergs Studio, which focused on artistic expression, Gustavsbergs Fabriker was known for its industrial design. Here, the possibilities of new design were limited by the very narrow tolerances allowed by the standard, which required a different kind of creativity. His curious attitude, which embraced an inventive approach, made Stig Lindberg a successful designer in a variety of materials and products. The intersection between the industrial Gustavsberg Keramiker and the artistic Gustavsberg Studio was abundantly clear when Lindberg developed his enamel technique. While working with bathtub enamel, he happened to see a colour sample, a piece of sheet metal that had floated in and out of the kiln. It struck him that it was possible to work artistically with the material. At the 1951 Milan Triennial, he showed modern enamel painting in an international context for the first time.

Stig Lindberg

‘Colorado’ Teapots

1960s

Glazed stoneware with faience decoration, bamboo

Each stamped with makers mark

Produced by Gustavsberg Studio

Stig Lindberg

Three White ‘Veckla’ Vases

1950s

Stoneware with white carrara glaze

Each stamped with makers mark

Produced by Gustavsberg Studio

NORDISKA KOMPANIET

Besides his ceramic works for Gustavsberg, Stig Lindberg also did many commissions beyond. Many know Lindberg for his graphic works. The children’s book illustrations mentioned earlier are a good example; but he also created successful advertising, catalogues, leaflets, wrapping paper and posters.

In 1947, he began a series of designs for the textile studio of Nordiska Kompaniet, a department store in Stockholm, which are among the very best hand-painted textile designs of the period. Soon after, he also developed some table designs in collaboration with NK’s furniture workshop in Nyköping. The tabletops were enamelled with his illustrative figures. The enamel offered a colour palette of up to seven thousand shades after 5-6 minutes of firing in an oven. Table bases were available in different designs, by different designers.