A profile. Wiwen Nilsson, nicknamed "the monk" with his sharply combed hair, is one of the greatest figures in Swedish craftsmanship. Now, Kulturen in Lund has gathered nearly 500 works from his production.
By Birgitta Rubin. This article was written by Birgitta Rubin and published in Dagens Nyheter. Translated by Fern Scott, 2024.
The silversmith Wiwen Nilsson’s forms were purity taken to the extreme
"The true, steadfast silver soldier." This is how the silversmith Wiwen Nilsson has been described. Once this leading figure in Swedish craftsmanship discovered his geometric ideals, he firmly maintained his clear and distinctive style for over 40 years.
Utilising the framework of the cylinder, the circle, the cube, the cone, and the hemisphere, he created endless variations. One can witness Wiwen Nilsson’s unique talent, if not before then certainly now, as Kulturen in Lund displays his compiled life's work. Showcasing close to 500 pieces, spanning from the 1920s until his death in 1974, it is an impressive array of artistry that elevates simplicity to the extreme.
The man who once had an idea," scoffed the cynics. But, Wiwen Nilsson was far from unresponsive. He steadfastly believed, along with his friend GAN (Gösta Adrian-Nilsson), in the concept of "divine geometry" and the inherent integrity of pure form.
“Why convolute things?”
“If I have just crafted a pitcher that I believe to be my finest work yet, why should I then convolute things by making a new one that looks worse?” he pondered back in the 1960s and firmly asserted: "The only artistic effect I aspire to is a vitalisation of the rhythmic relationships in the proportion." These insightful reflections can be found within the pages of “Silversmeden Wiwen Nilsson”, (The Silversmith Wiwen Nilsson), a new deluxe illustrated volume and monograph written by the former Museum Director and Curator, Kersti Holmquist. Spanning nearly 250 pages, she meticulously explores both the person and his body of work, allowing Wiwen to speak for himself through numerous quotes from interviews, letters, and travel accounts. The lavishly illustrated book is published by Kulturen in conjunction with the exhibition, which runs until the 26th of August.
A prominent figure in Lund
In addition to being an award-winning silversmith and court jeweler, Wiwen Nilsson was also a prominent figure in his hometown Lund. He was always sporting a monk-style haircut with a straight fringe, and clad in a white linen suit during the summer. His workshop and store were located opposite the cathedral - he would often stand on the steps, gazing out towards the imposing, grey-shimmering dome: "Do you not see, do you not feel the vitality and tension in the forms, and at the same time the monumentality, the tranquility, the peace!" Wiwen Nilsson also loved having visitors in his store to discuss customers' preferences and general aesthetic topics. Wiwen, Sten Broman, and Aron Borelius, "The Three Musketeers," contemplated the mysteries of life in the plush armchairs of Lund’s Grand Hotel. And Broman, who was rarely left speechless, called Wiwen "lethal" in the debates.
Followed in his father's footsteps
With cutting logic and matter-of-factness, plus a few “patented” phrases that can break down even the sturdiest argument, he completely dismantles the opponent's arguments. It usually ends with Wiwen speaking alone - either to a completely exhausted or a newly converted soul. His extensive knowledge of art, literature, and philosophy was entirely self-taught. Karl Edvin Nilsson, as he was baptised, disliked school. He chose early on to follow in his father Anders' footsteps and become a silversmith.
“The tradition in the family lineage goes back almost unbroken to the 1700s," explains antiquarian Eva Sjölin. Wiwen grew up with tremendous professional demands, and Kulturen in Lund also provides insight into the skilled craftsmanship of his predecessors. "In knickerbockers and knitted socks," the young lad from Lund set off to the goldsmith school in Hanau, Germany. The war interrupted his stay, but in the early 1920s, he returned. Here, Karl Edvin adopted his nickname Wiwen as his artist's name and came into contact with German expressionism.
Criticism from the critics
In 1923, he made his first official appearance and was completely savaged by the critics, as they felt that he teetered "on a narrow silver edge between German expressionism and Art Nouveau" with silver objects in "geometric forms, that were thin and fragile as glass, a typical case of poor understanding of the material..." Wiwen took the criticism hard, and perhaps that was the reason he set out again, this time for Paris. With a rounded hat and bow tie, he ploughed through museums and libraries. The conclusion was that French craftsmanship "vegetated" all the styles of the world: "It's all a mess. Arts and crafts have become a fashion statement. There's a lack of seriousness in the pursuit of creating something sound and solid that will stand the test of time." In Paris, Wiwen met GAN, also from Lund, for the first time. They discussed geometric ideals, toasted, and laid the foundation for a lifelong friendship.
Jealousy
But they didn't always see eye to eye. GAN was envious of Wiwen's seemingly effortless, clear visual language, something that had taken GAN decades of suffering to achieve, recounted Eva Sjölin. Just now GAN’s collection hangs in the room next to Wiwen Nilsson’s at Kulturen, so that visitors can compare their endeavours in parallel. They supported each other, but GAN never held back his contempt for arts and crafts and how economically secure it was for Wiwen to create in a "pleasant workshop." Wiwen took over the workshop after his father in 1927, after numerous disputes over "aunts” as he called outdated design. In 1930, the firm achieved success at the Stockholm Exhibition, and thereafter, Wiwen stuck to his smooth, undecorated silver with a matte finish. The cubist form resurfaced in everything from silver cutlery to candlesticks. "There are many items for bourgeois socialising," says Eva Sjölin, pointing out practical cocktail shakers, side plates, honorary gifts, table bells, and oyster forks. Wiwen Nilsson's admiration for medieval art and the visual language of the Byzantine Church led him to become the Swedish craftsman who produced the most sacred silver. At Kulturen, there are numerous examples of communion chalices, wine jugs, and wafer boxes that are constructed with restraint. "This is where Wiwen is at his best," says Eva Sjölin. "In the ecclesiastical silver, he can increase the volume of the objects and the monumental comes to the fore." Throughout the years, Wiwen Nilsson designed several altar crosses but adhered to the pure, abstract form because "no man on earth" could tell him how Jesus truly looked.
JewelLEry for all
He also introduced the cross as a fashion accessory in the 1930s, combining silver with his beloved rock crystal. "What lay behind was actually an economic question. I could not afford to work with precious stones," explained Wiwen many years later. With his affordable jewellery, he reached out to the general public. And his success was monumental when, in the 1950s, he made a singular departure from geometry in the form of animal-themed jewellery with Japanese and Chinese inspiration. Among the greatest surprises at the exhibition are Wiwen Nilsson's free works. In his later years, he returned to his expressionist drawings from the 1920s, drew inspiration from GAN in planar geometric reliefs, and created wholly non-figurative stone sculptures. But he did not hold much regard for painting. In an interview from 1953, he declared with eyes burning with a fiery gaze beneath his bushy fringe: "Painting is something that takes place on two planes, but they pretend there is a third that is not there: depth!"
