Swedish artist and writer Greger Ståhlgren works with a range of mediums and techniques, including sculpture and site-specific installations, with a primary focus on the natural world and cultural history. His practice is deeply rooted in direct experience with nature, with the forest playing a central role.
Much of Ståhlgren’s sculptural work combines humor and elements of surprise with exceptional craftsmanship, playing with unexpected contrasts in materials and connotations. At the heart of his work lies a repertoire of cultural and architectural objects – musical instruments, garden gates and portals, lamp posts, columns and classical capitals – that form a unique catalog of elements. By repeatedly using objects from a recognizable and culturally grounded domain, Ståhlgren creates connections between his works, weaving them into a cohesive and meaningful narrative. Placing these objects in natural settings, he crafts poetic and thought-provoking land art that blurs temporal boundaries, uniting classical motifs with contemporary landscapes
In the series One Place After Another (2013), fragmented columns and capitals evoke the passage of time, decay and renewal. This theme also recurs in later works, such as Aktie (2015) created for Kunstmaand Ameland, where classical columns crafted from chicken wire seems to highlight the fragility and impermanence of human constructs.
Ståhlgren’s classical references are not merely historical quotations but elements that flatten time, placing ancient symbols in direct dialogue with contemporary natural landscapes. This interplay invites viewers to reconsider the universal and eternal qualities of form, as well as the silent dialogue between artwork, environment and viewer.
In collaboration with Hannah Streefkerk, Ståhlgren explored themes of nature, time and sustainability at Vänersborgs Konsthall (2016). His works include a wooden pillar, adorned with second-hand items such as candlesticks, cutting boards and egg cups. Inspired by the ornate columns of Indian temples, Ståhlgren’s pillar offered a concentrated homage to Swedish culture. By reusing everyday materials, the piece highlights the artist’s commitment to sustainability and cycles of cultural memory. A trombone-like wooden sculpture, spiraling into a treetop form, symbolizes sound, echo and the delicate boundary between nature and culture, underscoring the artists’ shared ecological and poetic vision.
The interplay between nature and culture finds a poetic resonance in Echos (2017), a site-specific work from the land art project IntraRegionale in Hannover. Situated at the edge of a forest, Echos features four monumental wooden sculptures that resemble giant trombones. The rounded bells gracefully rest on the ground, while their body/tubing appears to emerge from sprawling tree roots. The sculptures seamlessly blend into their natural surroundings, evoking a sense of both harmony and transformation as the roots metamorphose into musical instruments. This work reflects Ståhlgren’s fascination with the interconnectedness of nature and culture, building a thematic bridge to earlier pieces like Birch Tree Trumpet and Lightroom (2015).
These themes are revisited in Nocturne (2017) – his contribution to the Land Art Exhibition (X)sites placed along the cycling path Sjuhäradsrundan in Sweden. This site-specific work, featuring five steel poles with brass wind instruments illuminated by solar-powered lighting, embodies Ståhlgren’s interest in how art interacts with its environment and reinforces his commitment to sustainability.
Just as wind instruments play a central role in his sculptural world, gates and portals remain a defining motif. This can be seen in his contribution to the artist-initiated project Kunst I Natur at Litlefjell near Åndalsnes (2019). The gate structure in Litefjell takes the form of an arched garden trellis, reminiscent of those designed to support climbing plants or roses; a motif associated with cultivated, ornamental gardens. Yet here, placed on the exposed mountainside, stripped of vegetation, it becomes something else entirely.
At first glance, the trellis gate appears to be forged from metal and painted white; the paint seems to be eroding, revealing dark spots where time and weather have left their mark. Upon closer inspection, its material reveals itself: slender birch trunks. Standing alone on the rugged mountainside of Litefjell, the gate is both an illusion and a reality, a deliberate manipulation of material and perception. Its form echoes traditional, romantic garden gates, subtly referencing the human impulse to shape and organise nature. By situating the piece in a wild, untamed environment, Ståhlgren creates a poetic contrast between controlled cultivation and the raw, organic beauty of the Norwegian wilderness.
It feels almost like a remnant of something lost, and Ståhlgren invites the viewer to question not only what they see, but what they assume to be true.
His work in the group exhibition Kärrlek (2023), an art route along a sunken lane in a forest in Alingsås, is also a sculptural interpretation of a classical gate. By placing this familiar yet reimagined form on the forest floor between the trees, he continues his exploration of temporal fluidity, weaving past and present into a cohesive artistic language – once again allowing cultural motifs to merge naturally with the landscape. The gate itself hangs slightly askew on one of its hinges, its imperfect stance further emphasizing the quiet inevitability of change. The broken ornament on one of the pillars subtly reinforces this dialogue with time, adding a sense of fragility and transformation to the work.
In his ongoing work, including his contribution to Force Majeure (2025) in Hobro, Denmark, Ståhlgren continues to investigate humanity’s relationship with nature. This exhibition brings together eight Scandinavian artists to explore the growing urgency of climate issues. Ståhlgren’s work blends poetic and critical perspectives, emphasizing the need for harmony between us and the environment; the sculpture Korintiskt juxtaposes classical Corinthian-style columns with modern materials, reusing antique furniture pieces to form delicate capitals atop slender steel rods. These steel rods, standing as if on the verge of submersion, suggest the vulnerability of human constructions in the face of environmental change.
By blending humor, craftsmanship and thoughtful juxtapositions, Ståhlgren keeps inviting viewers into dialogues about sustainability, memory and the relationship between Nature and the constructed. His art is at once critical and hopeful, emphasizing interconnectedness and serving as a call for ecological awareness.
August 2025
Lise Sinnbeck, Danish art historian located in Svendborg, Denmark
Much of Ståhlgren’s sculptural work combines humor and elements of surprise with exceptional craftsmanship, playing with unexpected contrasts in materials and connotations. At the heart of his work lies a repertoire of cultural and architectural objects – musical instruments, garden gates and portals, lamp posts, columns and classical capitals – that form a unique catalog of elements. By repeatedly using objects from a recognizable and culturally grounded domain, Ståhlgren creates connections between his works, weaving them into a cohesive and meaningful narrative. Placing these objects in natural settings, he crafts poetic and thought-provoking land art that blurs temporal boundaries, uniting classical motifs with contemporary landscapes
In the series One Place After Another (2013), fragmented columns and capitals evoke the passage of time, decay and renewal. This theme also recurs in later works, such as Aktie (2015) created for Kunstmaand Ameland, where classical columns crafted from chicken wire seems to highlight the fragility and impermanence of human constructs.
Ståhlgren’s classical references are not merely historical quotations but elements that flatten time, placing ancient symbols in direct dialogue with contemporary natural landscapes. This interplay invites viewers to reconsider the universal and eternal qualities of form, as well as the silent dialogue between artwork, environment and viewer.
In collaboration with Hannah Streefkerk, Ståhlgren explored themes of nature, time and sustainability at Vänersborgs Konsthall (2016). His works include a wooden pillar, adorned with second-hand items such as candlesticks, cutting boards and egg cups. Inspired by the ornate columns of Indian temples, Ståhlgren’s pillar offered a concentrated homage to Swedish culture. By reusing everyday materials, the piece highlights the artist’s commitment to sustainability and cycles of cultural memory. A trombone-like wooden sculpture, spiraling into a treetop form, symbolizes sound, echo and the delicate boundary between nature and culture, underscoring the artists’ shared ecological and poetic vision.
The interplay between nature and culture finds a poetic resonance in Echos (2017), a site-specific work from the land art project IntraRegionale in Hannover. Situated at the edge of a forest, Echos features four monumental wooden sculptures that resemble giant trombones. The rounded bells gracefully rest on the ground, while their body/tubing appears to emerge from sprawling tree roots. The sculptures seamlessly blend into their natural surroundings, evoking a sense of both harmony and transformation as the roots metamorphose into musical instruments. This work reflects Ståhlgren’s fascination with the interconnectedness of nature and culture, building a thematic bridge to earlier pieces like Birch Tree Trumpet and Lightroom (2015).
These themes are revisited in Nocturne (2017) – his contribution to the Land Art Exhibition (X)sites placed along the cycling path Sjuhäradsrundan in Sweden. This site-specific work, featuring five steel poles with brass wind instruments illuminated by solar-powered lighting, embodies Ståhlgren’s interest in how art interacts with its environment and reinforces his commitment to sustainability.
Just as wind instruments play a central role in his sculptural world, gates and portals remain a defining motif. This can be seen in his contribution to the artist-initiated project Kunst I Natur at Litlefjell near Åndalsnes (2019). The gate structure in Litefjell takes the form of an arched garden trellis, reminiscent of those designed to support climbing plants or roses; a motif associated with cultivated, ornamental gardens. Yet here, placed on the exposed mountainside, stripped of vegetation, it becomes something else entirely.
At first glance, the trellis gate appears to be forged from metal and painted white; the paint seems to be eroding, revealing dark spots where time and weather have left their mark. Upon closer inspection, its material reveals itself: slender birch trunks. Standing alone on the rugged mountainside of Litefjell, the gate is both an illusion and a reality, a deliberate manipulation of material and perception. Its form echoes traditional, romantic garden gates, subtly referencing the human impulse to shape and organise nature. By situating the piece in a wild, untamed environment, Ståhlgren creates a poetic contrast between controlled cultivation and the raw, organic beauty of the Norwegian wilderness.
It feels almost like a remnant of something lost, and Ståhlgren invites the viewer to question not only what they see, but what they assume to be true.
His work in the group exhibition Kärrlek (2023), an art route along a sunken lane in a forest in Alingsås, is also a sculptural interpretation of a classical gate. By placing this familiar yet reimagined form on the forest floor between the trees, he continues his exploration of temporal fluidity, weaving past and present into a cohesive artistic language – once again allowing cultural motifs to merge naturally with the landscape. The gate itself hangs slightly askew on one of its hinges, its imperfect stance further emphasizing the quiet inevitability of change. The broken ornament on one of the pillars subtly reinforces this dialogue with time, adding a sense of fragility and transformation to the work.
In his ongoing work, including his contribution to Force Majeure (2025) in Hobro, Denmark, Ståhlgren continues to investigate humanity’s relationship with nature. This exhibition brings together eight Scandinavian artists to explore the growing urgency of climate issues. Ståhlgren’s work blends poetic and critical perspectives, emphasizing the need for harmony between us and the environment; the sculpture Korintiskt juxtaposes classical Corinthian-style columns with modern materials, reusing antique furniture pieces to form delicate capitals atop slender steel rods. These steel rods, standing as if on the verge of submersion, suggest the vulnerability of human constructions in the face of environmental change.
By blending humor, craftsmanship and thoughtful juxtapositions, Ståhlgren keeps inviting viewers into dialogues about sustainability, memory and the relationship between Nature and the constructed. His art is at once critical and hopeful, emphasizing interconnectedness and serving as a call for ecological awareness.
August 2025
Lise Sinnbeck, Danish art historian located in Svendborg, Denmark