Tore Svensson

A smith who elects to chase a bowl in iron undertakes heavy, time-consuming work. The metal must be hammered thousands of times.
In more than three decades, I have sought a single simple form. The few bowls I make each year hardly vary in size and shape from their forerunners.
They derive their appearance from such lengthy work and the value of the inexpensive material raise.
Fired with linseed oil, their iron is black.
A streak of gold on some bowls pierces this darkness, contrast and enhance the iron. You shall not see them as things for daily use, but rather as holders for your thoughts.

Tore Svensson

Bowl: Steel. Fired with linseed oil. Year  2011
Photo: Franz Karl

In my parent’s home there was a photograph of my grandparents from the late 19th century. As a child I liked the black and white photo in the old oval frame. I thought they looked very beautiful as a couple. Today the photo is hanging on a wall in my apartment in Gothenburg.
For a long time I thought about transforming the old photo into a piece of jewellery. It ended up as a brooch, with variations. I saw the similarity to a cameo and other antique jewellery and decided to make more brooches using recent photographs.
The single photo that started it all has now become a project in which I make portraits of family, friends and colleagues.

Tore Svensson
photo: Franz Karl

Pendant: steel, paint, textile thread. 

Brooches/Flowers: 2020, 3 mm MDF, Acryl, Silver.
From the series “Cover 2” (Andy Warhol/Patricia Caulfield).
Shown at Hannah Gallery 2024

The alchemical egg – Shown at Hannah Gallery 2017

Black, White and Red – Nigredo, Albedo and Rubedo
A red circle.  The red powder mixed with wine, blood flows in the veins.
An egg with a thin fragile shell, porcelain and eating. White swans floating towards unknown water.
A square, black like the night or the raven that cries in the forest.
Three brooches, three materials and three colours.
Wood, Porcelain, Iron.
A colour, a material and an emotion.

Tore Svensson/ Exhibition at Hannah Gallery by Klimt02, 2017

photo: Franz Kar

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brooches/lakes

In my childhood I spent many hours on a small lake near our home, Lomtjärn. During the winter we played hockey and bandy there and in the summer I caught small crucians, which I sold as bait for fishermen.
When I was looking for the little lake on Google Maps a few years ago, I found an interesting shape and decided to use it in my jewellery.
It was the beginning of a new series of brooches.
I started to look for other lakes from my home area that I had some sort of connection with, Igeltjärn, Kyrktjärn and Losjön.
The project has been developed and now includes various lakes that have some meaning for me, memories from trips or the favourite lake for a summer dip.
These memories have a relationship with the etchings on the surfaces of the brooches, like the scratches from my skates on Lomtjärn.

Tore Svensson

Brooch/Lakes: Steel, Gilt, Paint, Etched. Fired with linseed oil
photo: Franz Karl

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