Familjen Ekman
“A genetic spoof that goes back many generations and that has probably been stimulated by dyslexia.”
The Wetterling Gallery’s financial situation has gone up and down over the years. The first time that Björn Wetterling met Robert Ekman was during a lengthy period of economic decline. And so he took to making road trips to different parts of Sweden; a hazardous endeavour in that he had no idea whether he would meet people keen to make purchases or whether he would merely increase his losses.
One such trip was to Hotell Ekoxen in Linköping with some very expensive works by Rauschenberg in tow. The evening was sluggish until a gentleman in the audience showed an interest in one of the Rauschenberg works but wanted to see what it would look like at home before making a decision. Björn Wetterling rapidly accepted this condition and they agreed to meet at the man’s home the following morning. But the evening proved so festive that Björn Wetterling managed to mislay the keys to his rental car. After much searching he managed to get hold of another car and, very late for the appointment, ultimately set out for the estate in Stafsäter. After driving for thirty minutes he arrived at a beautiful house where Robert Ekman was waiting for him. In silence they hung the painting and the host then provided coffee. After a while Robert Ekman commented: “It looks good there. I’ll buy it.”
Björn Wetterling kept his excitement to himself, knowing that the gallery was secure for another few months. Robert and Gunilla Ekman now live together with their son Johan and his wife Maria on the Stafsäter estate in the Swedish province of Östergötland.
What was your first memorable art experience?Robert: When my father came home from the picture-framer with some watercolours by Ossian
Elgström depicting reindeer herding. I had just witnessed reindeer herding in Tärnaby and I was amazed that one could so ‘easily’ see the movements among the reindeer and Sami herders. I was about six years old at the time.
At what age did your interest in art begin?
Johan: I have always been interested in creating art, especially drawing and photography. My real interest in art developed when I was somewhere between 20 and 25.
R: At the age of two on a visit to Moderna Museet. The Halmstad circle of painters really turned me on.
What was the first artwork you bought, and why did you buy it?
R: René Magritte, a little art print for 650 SEK. It cost me all my earnings from the haymaking that year. Our second son has it now.
M: It was a small Christo painting. I was living in New York when the Christos did their installation, The Gates, there and I was able to see it live as well as having the opportunity to meet the artists in their studio where I bought a small print. Always supposing that one does not count the flee-market bargains I had previously purchased!
J: I don’t remember exactly. But among the earliest was a painting by Olle Kåks which I bought when there were too many bare walls in my first apartment.
Can one call you a collector or just a person who wants nice things to hang on their walls?
M: I want to have nice things on my walls. I buy paintings that I like. I would never buy anything just because it might be a so-called investment or because a particular artist is fashionable. The work has to say something to me.
J: That depends on how one defines a collector. For me, there are two criteria when I purchase art. It should potentially keep or increase its value and it should be enjoyable when hung on a wall.
Are you a person who follows the art world in terms of spending a lot of time in galleries and museums?
M: I try to keep reasonably up to date as regards contemporary art and artists when I happen to come upon them, but I don’t actively seek information. I like visiting galleries but, sadly, seldom have time to do so. But when I am travelling abroad it is natural to visit a gallery or art museum during my stay.
What causes you to choose a specific work of art?
R: It must affect me positively.
J: Taste and my wallet.
M: Colour, form, material, light, subject. It’s difficult to put a finger on it.
How big a role does the financial aspect play in your purchasing?
J: The work’s aesthetic, the artist’s skill and economic considerations all play an equal role.
R: The price is naturally important. A work has to suit one’s wallet. We have often bought unknown artists whose work we liked but whom we don’t reckon on getting our money back.
Do you ever sell art in order to buy something new?
J: It hasn’t happened yet. But I have sold a share fund that wasn’t delivering so that I could buy art which I have greater faith in.
R: Yes indeed. Especially if the artist has become ‘worn’ and overly popular. And one’s taste changes over the years.
What role does art play in your daily life?
R: A very large one. I can get a sense of enjoyment every day from looking at our pictures. And at the same time I can feel almost ill when visiting a home where they have hung some paintings with a total lack of sensibility merely to cover up a bare wall.
Can art generate happiness?
J: Yes.
What will be your next purchase? Is there something you would really like?
R: Francis Bacon. But that’s something one can only dream about.
J: There is a painting by Ernst Billgren that I missed at auction a decade or so ago. I keep an eye open for it in catalogues. A Bærtling is something I would love to have too but here my wife and I have different ideas. And his paintings have become a bit too expensive.
M: Nothing in particular. And yet so much!
Can you summarize your interest in art in a single sentence?
R: A genetic spoof that goes back many generations and that has probably been stimulated by dyslexia.
Photo: Patrik Sehlstedt
Idea & Production: Le Bureau
© Wetterling Gallery
About It’s mine
It is in the meeting of minds that art becomes important. These narratives are about initial meetings. About desire, passion, acquisitiveness. About the relationship between works of art and their owners.
It’s mine is a book that features encounters with 33 art collectors and artists who have opened their homes and their heart for us.
To get a copy of the book, contact info@wetterlinggallery.com.
