Barbro Agneta Bäckström née Erhardsson (6 December 1939 – 8 February 1990) was a Swedish sculptor who is remembered for her depictions of fragments of the

human body The human body is the entire structure of a Human, human being. It is composed of many different types of Cell (biology), cells that together create Tissue (biology), tissues and subsequently Organ (biology), organs and then Organ system, org ...

, frequently in the form of undulating cloth-like statues or as

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

s of nude women. Her larger outdoor works are in bronze or iron while those displayed indoors are generally reliefs in wire mesh. Many of her works have been exhibited at the

Malmö Art Museum Founded in , the Malmö Art Museum is one of the leading art museums in Scandinavia. The museum building, built in , is located in the Malmö Castle complex in Malmö, Scania, in southern Sweden. The museum is governed by the City of Malmö. Th ...

Biography

Born in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

on 6 December 1939, Barbro Agneta Erhardsson was the daughter of Arvid Julius Erhardsson and his wife Birgit. She was raised on the island of

Vindö Vindö is a large, fairly densely populated island in Stockholm County, Svealand, Sweden, in the Stockholm archipelago, between Värmdö and Kanholmsfjärden. The island is cut into by several deep bays, and linked by isthmus to Djurö to the ...

in Stockholm County. Encouraged by her parents, she developed her interest in art and attended the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design between 1960 and 1964 where she trained as a drawing teacher. While studying, she met and married the sculptor Holger Bäckström (1939–1997). On completion of their studies the couple moved to

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

where Barbro held her first solo exhibition at the Galleri Atheneum in 1965. Thanks to a series of commissions, she created bronze sculptures depicting fragments of human bodies for public outdoor display while her iron works were housed indoors in schools and hospitals. She later created a multitude of smaller works depicting body parts such as stomachs, backs, wings and hands, made from materials ranging from aluminium to plastic and metals. Barbro Bäckström died in Lund from cancer on 8 February 1990 and is buried in Norra Cemetery.

Biography

References

Further reading