All around the Västerås library are several art works of different styles and periods.
Let’s start with the main entrance to the library where there is a relief sculpture 2 metres high, created in 1955 by Edvin Öhrström, “Maria”.
The sculpture represents the Madonna and Child sitting on a throne chair surrounded by the key and the book, inspired by the seal (17th century) of the nearby Rudbeckianska High School. The idea is to highlight the link between the school, the library and the church.
“Prose around book”, consists of a text by Tomas Tranströmer where each letter of this text is engraved on a pavement. This tribute to the great Swedish poet is the work of Ida Rosen Branzell in 2016 and is located around the tree at the entrance to the library. To read this text, you must turn around the tree!
Near the main entrance is “Råbock”, created by Lars Andersson in 1956. His works, often inspired by the animal world, are found in several cities in Sweden.
He worked from 1944 to 1976 at Avesta Jernverk to create works of art in stainless steel. There are also statues of “Råbock” in Nässjö and Borås.
“Omfamningen” was created by Joan Morrison in the late 1980s.
This granite sculpture represents two characters hugged. The two figures locked in an affectionate embrace have fused together. The work is all in round shapes, the bodies barely sketched to the limit of abstraction. A great sweetness emerges from this sculpture which is on the garden side of the library.
A little further, we discover “Eva” by David Wretling created in 1936. The artist is from Umeå and a number of his sculptures are visible around this city. He worked wood, stone, terracotta, bronze and marble in a realistic style. His sculptures are installed in several cities in Sweden, including Stockholm (Kalle and Emma at the entrance to Skansen), Hjo, Västerås and Skellefteå.
In the Botanical Garden you can see “Morgonbad” by Anders Zorn. He is one of Sweden’s most famous artists. He worked a lot on nude outdoor studies trying to represent the relationship between nature and humans. The statue was created between 1908 and 1909 as one of his last sculptural works.
The bronze statue, one metre high, represents a young woman holding a mushroom in her hands from which water gushes into small fountains.
“Snäcka” is a 1983 work by Arne Lundell. In a large shell is a starfish, a blue stem and an octopus. It can be seen in the botanical garden on the north side of the library.
His work consists of landscape studies, animals and forests of Uppland mainly made with pencil and a number of granite sculptures.
Arne Lundell was also an illustrator and graphic designer and has participated in exhibitions around the world.
Along the wall of the Botanical Garden there are mosaics by Sven Ahlbom and a series of 31 different patterns carved into the brick, made by the sculptor K G Lindholm in 1955.
These sculptures are found on the east and south walls of the library. A visual connection with the cathedral a little further.
And finally, on the east side of the library with an art work by Erland Melanton, “Mosaik”, created in 1956. An abstract mosaic thThis composition ends near the entrance to the children’s library with motifs that symbolize the fruits of knowledge.
He is also the author of a large glass mosaic created for the Stockholm subway that can be seen at the T-central station. He won a prize for this work in 1956.
Edvin Öhrström / Wikipedia
Ida Rosen Branzell
Lars Andersson / Wikipedia
David Wretling / Wikipedia
David Wretling / Instagram
Anders Zorn
Anders Zorn / National Museum
Anders Zorn / Arts and Culture
Arne Lundell
Arne Lundell / Wikipedia
Erland Melanton / Wikipedia