This article was written by Gösta Adrian-Nilsson “GAN” and published in Konstrevy. Translated by Fern Scott, 2024.
When Cubism embraced the notion that the shortest distance between two points was a straight line, the architectural proportion was born. In other words, the whimsical curves, with their picturesque small excursions had to be replaced by geometrically drawn straight lines. Thereby, limiting the surfaces to establish movement solely through the size and tension relationship between them. The corpus thus constructed did not illude to an external phenomenon or abstract-construction, yet was paradoxically absolutely concrete, as it depicted only itself, creating a basic form, a frame for further construction vertically or horizontally. The movement of these forms was neither 'harmonic' nor static, directed towards the centre and ending in a point, rather it had a dynamic radiating movement outwards towards the periphery – with its main function being one of expansion, moving away from the centre.
Aesthetically speaking, modern architecture is becoming increasingly aware of this right-angled dynamic – something that Wiwen Nilsson has been applying to his silver work for years now, and the consistency with which he has applied and executed this style is likely to place him in a special class of his own; awarding him a prominent position within Swedish arts and craftsmanship that surely cannot be disputed.
However speculative his work may appear to be, it is first and foremost an expression of a remarkable imagination regarding form and an unlimited ability to make combinations. The fact that it adheres to strictly defined geometric perimeters does not make it any less interesting. The sensitivity and precision in which he determines dimensional relationships and surface distribution, be it the relief setting of a piece of jewellery or the taut corpus form in a bowl, makes his creations so different from the plethora of “functionalistic” styles that are currently saturating the market, that one cannot even speak of a common origin.
Wiwen Nilsson’s originality is probably difficult for most people to recognise, as it was never his goal to achieve an extreme visual language. The results he has achieved is rather an expression of a life philosophy than merely a conception of art and should be seen as such. GAN.
Image captions:
- COMMUNION CHALICE
- SÖLVESBORG CHURCH
- BAPTISMAL FONT
- SOLVESBORG CHURCH
- BRACELET WITH ROCK CRYSTAL AND ONYX
