Susanne och
Johan Carlsson
“Art represents what you want it to represent.”
He looks at one quizzically. She fixes one with her gaze. He and she. Johan embroiders his narrative, explaining the text. Susanne speaks succinctly, and straightforwardly. She and he. Johan and Susanne Carlsson are welded together both in their profession and in their private life. They have three children and they are partners in a law firm where they both work. Hard! Our discussion develops into a weave with new ideas continually being introduced. It constantly changes direction, criss-crossing the fabric and slowing almost to a halt before rushing off on some new path.
“At a very early age I acquired a camera”, Johan relates. “I learnt how to use it and took it with me everywhere. And a tape recorder. A miniature tape recorder of the sort they had on the moon. So I went round interviewing people. And I took photographs of everybody imaginable, from Kennedy to the Rolling Stones. Outside this room you can view my childhood home; eight images perhaps. And I came across various people who were interested in art. Taking photographs and my natural curiosity were my introduction to the visual arts. I am a member of the board of the Stockholm Bar Association’s art society and arrange monthly activities with…”
Susanne breaks in:
“Do you want that to appear in the magazine?”
“That’ll be OK”, he counters, before going off on a new topic.
“Right from when we first met, in 1979, we started putting aside some money for special purposes. There was 500 SEK each month for buying art, and 500 SEK for a holiday trip. So art was there from day one.”
He interrupts himself, going off on a new tack. “I’ve just remembered a funny story. In 1982 Susanne had a little Volkswagen beetle which was on its last legs.
“We don’t need a car”, I opined.
“Let’s sell it. Then we can buy Andy Warhol’s Cowon Blue Paper. A yellow cow for 2 900 SEK. So we bought it…”
Susanne takes over: “Art has always been a joint interest. I won’t let any art into the house unless we are agreed about it.”
Susanne points to a work hanging in the elegant office: “Let me give you an example. This Tàpies. We bought it together at the Sollentuna Art Fair.”
“Right”, he adds.
“From the eighties”, she notes, “it is very black, very dark. And now there is no room for it. Outside this office there are oil paintings from Johan’s childhood home. And it’s interesting to see, when people visit the office, that they feel at home among these somewhat old-fashioned oil paintings. If one is not so used to looking at art this can be an advantage.”
Johan interrupts enthusiastically: “And when one can’t reach a business agreement or something of that nature I generally suggest that we leave the room. We walk about, looking at what is hanging on the walls. We take a break and chat about this for a while. And talking about what’s on the walls can lead to the impasse opening up as one directs one’s attention to something that is not connected with the disagreement. This has proved to be an eye-opener for people with rather introvert personalities.”
Susanne continues: “The other day we were discussing why more people do not collect art. One reason is that they think collecting is a waste of money. Being wealthy does not necessarily mean that people are cultured or have developed their artistic vision. The genuine art buyer, the person who is passionate about artworks, but who does not see them as an investment, is extremely rare. Sadly.”
“The old galleries had a different approach to collecting”, Johan adds.
“When I mention a waste of money I’m talking about the same thing. They are looking for a placement that will guarantee them a financial return”, Susanne adds.
Johan continues: “They want to know: how do I sell this painting? This is reflected in the growth of the auction houses. This directly reflects the increase in value of the works. The market is concerned with pushing up prices; which is terribly sad. It represents a serious danger to the artists themselves, those fantastic artists. They are living here and now and, for a couple of years, everything is great. Then there is a new trend. It’s not that your work of art is uninteresting, but something new has turned up and this leads to a succession of flash-in-the-pans.”
Susanne takes over: “On the other hand, one does not know what people have on their walls.”
Johan holds up three insistent fingers. “Zorn, Liljefors, Larsson. Those are the three to have. If one lacks one of these one is nothing.
“But that’s not true today, Johan…”
“I can easily pick some names. And for them it’s showing off. Because one knows the market price.”
Susanne reflects for a moment, and then sets off in a new direction: “What is good art? I need to like it. Then certain people who are not acquainted with art come and ask what it is supposed to be. I have just one answer to that: It represents what you want it to represent.”
Johan: “When the works speak to one… I took a bank loan. Could it be the first time anyone had taken out a loan in order to buy art?”
Susanne reacts immediately: “We took out a loan. We had to mortgage our house”.
He laughs and continues: “Björn had said to me, ‘you have followed me but you have never purchased the really weighty artworks. Now I’m giving you first choice on a work by Frank Stella.’
Susanne adds: “We made a decision”.
“We were at the gallery and I had awful pains in my stomach.”
“The work was made of metal and some sort of plastic.”
“Stella’s comment was: It’s a painting since I hang it on a wall.”
“Our children reacted a bit.”
“They were introduced to Stella in connection with the painting.”
Susanne: “He toured the exhibition together with our eldest son.”
Johan: “And Viktor wanted his father to take another risky bank loan to buy James Rosenquist’s Revolver.”
There is a moment’s silence before Johan adds: “What’s such fun with Wetterling is that they have put on some really memorable shows. One of these was Johnny Boy from Gothenburg who really got to me. What’s happening? I was really bewitched by his manic energy. The same applies to Linda Bäckström. Wetterling do things differently. They follow their hearts and act on their love of art. That’s why they are different from so many other galleries.”
Susanne adds: “Indeed. And this is where one needs to thank the gallery. It’s a way of generating interest among purchasers, but it’s a good way. Have you told him about Peter Blake?”
“Indeed I haven’t”, Johan replies.
“It was we two.”
“And some others”, Johan adds.
“And then there was Peter Blake and his wife. And Johan said that he would take time off from work the next day and show them Stockholm, which he did.”
Johan continues: “And I picked them up at one o’clock, they were a little drowsy. What was the name of the hotel? Hotell Ambassadör?
“That’s right.”
“I took them all over the place. We sent round Riddarholmen and Södermalm. We looked at CarlLarsson’s first ceiling frescoes on Bondegatan in a nursery school. We climbed over heaps of snow. And we paid a visit to architects Claesson Koivisto Rune. When we parted company they said something like this: ‘what a fantastic day we’ve had. I’ll send you a work of art’.”
“Did he really say that? I don’t really know ifhe did.”
“I was the only one there”, Johan countered.
“Anyway, Johan did it…Peter Blake who had made the cover to Sgt Pepper´s Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles. That you managed to get into thenursery school. Amazing.”
“The staff were fascinated. So were all the infants. What on earth is going on?”
There is a moment of silence before Johan picks up the thread again: “Perhaps it is Wetterling that has promoted this. They have made the artists accessible. Sitting at Rosenquist’s home, there are seven of us with plans to visit a restaurant later, and here I am, talking to him about this and that and it strikes me that this is mega big. Being able to discuss trivialities with him gave me a new dimension to Pop Art in general. Rosenquist opens doors to American post-war art. And suddenly one finds oneself right in the middle of it.”
Text: Claes Kjellström
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.
