The entire work is made with love. From the aesthetics of the wagon to every item in the museum. I approach this with not even a hint of irony. As many know, my love for folk art, which I’ve in part recognized in my childhood, has also followed me throughout my artistic career. – Richard Johansson
Artist Richard Johansson presents the project Folk Art Museum in two parts at Wanås Konst. The starting point for the exhibition is Johansson’s museum wagon outside the Art Gallery. He has painted the exterior with inspiration from a classic circus wagon and on the interior, we meet objects from Johansson’s private collection of folk art. Together with Wanås Konst in 2018, Johansson has collected folk art from the general public and from local heritage federations. Sometimes the creator of the objects is known, and other times not. Almost 300 items were contributed and approximately half of them were chosen by Johansson for the exhibition in the Art Gallery.
The term “folk art” does not have a universal definition. The label has often been used to describe the decorated objects of the farming society of times past, which were created in connection to holidays and milestones, such as baptisms, weddings, and burials. Today, the concept often includes contemporary textile arts, handicrafts, recycled objects, graffiti – objects from rustic to contemporary. Regardless of how the concept is defined, folk art is always created by people without a formal art education and is carried out with the desire to decorate and refine. Folk art exists as long as people create and express themselves through art.
For the collection at Wanås Konst, the definition has been kept broad in order to gather a wide variety of objects and to investigate how folk art can look today. In the exhibition, they are placed next to each other based on associations and relationships in material, form, and content. Older, contemporary, and timeless expressions are all brought together in the exhibition. The art project poses questions about who makes art and what art is, and makes the odd and unnoticed visible.
Our gratitude goes out to everyone who contributed objects and helped us see more of what is being collected and created right now. Only a selection of the pieces submitted are presented in the exhibition.
@broderauttexten, Simon Abrahamsson, Håkan Andersson, Julia Björnberg, Elin Claesson, Ditte Clase, Mikael Ek, Göran Eriksson, Jane Esbjörnsson, Sven Börje Feldt, Lars Gustafsson, Göinge Local History Society, Lena Hansson, Belen Hoberg, Lars Hoberg, Malin Hubertsson, Ann Jantze, Majbritt Johansson, Martin Jönsson, Tore Jönsson, Bengt Killander, Knislinge Local History Society, Tryggve Lagher, Carl-Johan Lundberg, Torsten Möllerström, Galleri Magnus Karlsson, Gert Nilsson, Therese Oleskog, Jörgen Olsson, Osby Local History Society, Linda Paulsson, Pierre Perrett, Eva Persson, Gerd Inger Persson, Richard Persson, Kajsa Rolfsson, Birgitta Siljedal, Gisela Ståle, Mailis Stensman, Richard Stensman, Ulla-Britt Stensman, Linus Svensson, Kajsa Trens, and Louise Waite.