Ulf Enhörning, born 1956 in Stockholm, Sweden, grew up in Sweden, Canada and the United States. At an early age his grandmother, Louise Peyron, also a painter, introduced him to the works of masters at galleries in Stockholm. She told him stories about their lives and also encouraged his interest to draw and sculpt his siblings. Salvador Dali was Ulf’s greatest hero at this time, but when he later immigrated to Toronto with his family at the age of 15, he was greatly inspired by the mystical landscape paintings of Lawren Harris.

At the age of 21, Enhörning was introduced to oil painting at the University of Waterloo, Canada. His first painting was of a nude, which he placed in an imaginary landscape of mountains and a sky full of clouds. Her face resembled a work his grandmother had painted of his mother. He became obsessed with this painting and felt the need to work on his own and quickly found a studio space on campus where the teacher would visit to see his progress. Later he studied briefly at the Victoria College of Art, Victoria, Canada, but did not stay long as he felt the teachers were imposing their views too much.

During his twenties he experimented with colour discovering a vast world and means of expressing emotion and a simple but elegant technique for mixing shadow colours.

In 1983, at the age of 27, Enhörning returned to Sweden retracing his roots. In Uppsala, he began a series of geometrical com-positions, exploring colour and its relative nature. Squares I was the first one in this

series. The process felt much the same as musical composition. In 1987, he had a solo exhibition based upon this theme in Toronto's Yorkville which he called "visual music". Later that same year, he returned to British Columbia. There, he continued to paint, write songs for voice and guitar, and study electronic music at the University of Victoria. He had previously worked with one of the first computer music systems in the world, the Structured Sound Synthesis Project (SSSP) at the University of Toronto.
 

In 1992, he painted She as an expression of his feelings for a woman. In his search for colours that would express his feelings, he found a new palette of soft pastels in a warm glow.

Having previously painted with more contrast, Ulf was now drawn to a gentler world of less contrast and warmer colours bringing an ethereal light to his essentially empty landscapes of land, sea and sky.
 

Sometimes, these landscapes are seen from inside a house, through a window or door. The viewer escapes the confining interior of convention and tradition to wide open spaces to distant horizons of hope and to sensual cloud formations free from a rigid man-made world dominated by static

straight lines of logic. There is a deliberate dichotomy in his dialog between opposite elements; inside and outside, architectural and natural, straight and curved, shadow and light, confinement and open space, reality and dream.

His work has been compared to Lawren Harris, René Magritte and Christopher Pratt in its surrealistic quality and architectural elements.

In the spring of 1999, Ulf had a solo show at "Bean around the World" in Victoria, BC, Canada. He had several paintings looking through windows, but had introduced a new perspective. The viewer was now invited to look down at an angle through a window opening to restful fields of patched farmland spotted by shadows of clouds.

Inspired by a good review, Ulf decided to take the idea further and began Cloud Shadows while his show was still running. This became the first painting in a series of aerial views. He now removed the window frame

entirely and tilted the angle 90 degrees to the horizontal - straight down. In a sense he had returned to the colour compositions he had begun in Sweden in 1985, but the squares now consisted of patches of farmland. However, he would still choose the colours of the fields in much the same way he would compose his abstract paintings or music.
 

	In the summer of 1999, Ulf went back to Sweden for a family reunion. There, he began his large series of miniature paintings. The small format allowed him to make quick painting sketches outside and to expand his visual vocabulary. Since then, he has painted more outside in what he calls the large studio where the ceiling is really high. There is an endless amount of things to paint outside, but he still paints with the same adherence to a sense of balance. He uses the real world as raw material and then transforms it into his own vision.

In the winter of 2001 he stayed in Vero Beach, Florida where he worked on a theme song to be presented at Toronto's bid for the 2008 summer Olympics. This song, Stars Shining, was later performed by a choir of 150 children.

In the spring of 2001, Ulf drove diagonally across America from Florida to British Columbia, the west coast of Canada. This trip took three weeks and has been documented with photographs in his diary. He stayed a couple of years on Salt Spring Island and in 2004 he went to Portugal to find inspiration for an upcoming show in Stockholm, Sweden.

During the winter 2004/2005, he drove to Algarve, Portugal and painted landscapes and cityscapes on site. Having built a bed in his car and a box on his roof, it enabled him to travel around the country and paint.

 

view and/or print biography as a word document

2009    Galleri Gunnrummet, Västerlånggatan 56, Stockholm, Sweden.
2008    Galleri Gunnrummet, Västerlånggatan 56, Stockholm, Sweden.
2007    Galleri Gunnrummet, Västerlånggatan 56, Stockholm, Sweden.
2006    Galleri Lilla G, Västerlånggatan 56, Stockholm, Sweden.
2006    Ramverket, Kungsängsgatan 23, Uppsala, Sweden.
2005    Creem, Fleminggatan 22, Stockholm, Sweden.
2005    Galleri Lilla G, Västerlånggatan 56, Stockholm, Sweden.
2004    Galleri Lilla G, Västerlånggatan 56, Stockholm, Sweden.
2004    Galleri Lilla G, Västerlånggatan 56, Stockholm, Sweden.
2004    Karuna Centre Gallery, 1025 Cliffe Ave, #202, Courtenay, BC, Canada.
2003    McPherson Playhouse, 3 Centennial Square, Victoria, BC, Canada.
2003    Barb's Buns, 1-121 McPhillips Avenue, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada.
2002    Moby's Marine Pub, 124 Upper Ganges Road, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada.
2000    Galleri Lilla G, Västerlånggatan 56, Stockholm, Sweden.
2000    Galleri Lilla G, Västerlånggatan 56, Stockholm, Sweden.
2000    Valegården, Alsikegatan 6, Uppsala, Sweden.
1999    Galleri Lilla G, Västerlånggatan 56, Stockholm, Sweden.
1999    Eko Cafeét, Drottninggatan 5, Uppsala, Sweden.
1998    Bean Around the World, 533 Fisgard St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1997    Studio Show, 426 St. Lawrence St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1995    Private Show, 302-75 Crescent Rd, Toronto, ON, Canada.
1994    Gallery M2, Strandvägen 17, Stockholm, Sweden.
1994    Studio Show, 5-1419 Fort St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1993    Robert Delaney Gallery, 1049 Cambie St, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
1993    Nievaart Gallery, 9769-C 5th St, Sidney, BC, Canada.
1992    Swan's Gold Room, 506 Pandora Ave, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1991    Studio Show, 1131 McKenzie St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1991    Zigfreid's Restaurant, 755 Johnson St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1990    Northern Passage Gallery, 1020 Government St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1987    Gallery Hittite, 107 Scollard St, Toronto, ON, Canada.
1986    Ungdomens Hus, Svartbäcksgatan 32, Uppsala, Sweden.
1985    Ahimsa, Sankt Eriks Gränd 6, Uppsala, Sweden.

2009    Galleri Konstskaparna, Sätuna, Björklinge, Sweden.
2005    Galleri Linné, Svartbäcksgatan 22, Uppsala, Sweden.
2005    Lions Club Lokalen, Risgatan 2, Smedjebacken, Sweden.
2005    Galleri Konstskaparna, Sätuna, Björklinge, Sweden.
2005    Galleri Gunnrummet, Västerlånggatan 56, Stockholm, Sweden.
2004    Galleri Linné, Svartbäcksgatan 22, Uppsala, Sweden.
2004    Fat Cat Fine Art, 1800 Store Street, Victoria, BC, Canada.
2003    LaRoche Fine Art Gallery, Seaport, Sidney, BC, Canada.
2003    ArtSpring, 100 Jackson Avenue, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada.
2003   16th Annual Moss Street Paint-In, Moss Street, Victoria, BC, Canada.
2002    ArtSpring, 100 Jackson Avenue, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada.
2002    ArtCraft, Mahon Hall, 114 Rainbow Road, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada.
2002    Pegasus Gallery, Ganges, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada.
2002    Look 2002, Ganges, Salt Spring Island, Victoria, BC, Canada.
2002    Dale's Gallery, 537 Fisgard Street, Victoria, BC, Canada.
2002    Fran Willis Gallery, 200-1619 Store Street, Victoria, BC, Canada.
2001    Fran Willis Gallery, 200-1619 Store Street, Victoria, BC, Canada.
2001    Mahon Hall, 114 Rainbow Road, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada.
2001    Stephen Lowe Art Gallery, 752 Douglas St, Victoria, Canada.
2000    Valegården, Alsikegatan 6, Uppsala, Sweden.
1999    Demitasse Coffee Bar, 1320 Blanshard St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1998    Gladwell Gallery, 1820 Government St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1998    Herald Street Caffe, 546 Herald St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1997    Fine Art `97, Sooke Arena, Sooke, BC, Canada.
1997    Mantra Interior Design, 589 Toronto St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1996    Wilhelmina's Art Gallery, 864 Delaware Ave, Buffalo, NY, USA.
1996    Mocambo Coffee, 1028 Blanshard St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1996    Birgit's Hair Design, 8416 Main St, Williamsville, NY, USA.
1996    Mantra Interior Design, 589 Toronto St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1994    Goward House, 2495 Arbutus St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1994    Look '94, Ganges, Salt Spring Island, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1993    Look '93, 1212 Douglas St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1992    Look '92, 1212 Douglas St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1992    Herald Street Caffe, 546 Herald St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1992    Kaleidoscope Theatre, 520 Herald St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1992    Quin Gallery, 1413 Government St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1992    Northern Passage Gallery, 1020 Government St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1991    Aurora Borealis, 46 Western Ave, Seattle, WA, USA.
1990    Kaleidoscope Theatre, 715 Yates St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1990    Chauney's Restaurant, 712 Humboldt St, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1989    Big Art Society, 14 Fan Tan Alley, Victoria, BC, Canada.
1987    Gallery St. Luke, 3123 Dundas St. West, Toronto, ON, Canada.
1987    Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, City Hall, Toronto, ON, Canada.
1984    Föreningsbanken, Gamla Torget 5, Uppsala, Sweden.

Robert Allington, Victoria, BC, Canada.
Roland Andersson, Uppsala, Sweden.
Ragnar and Margareta Beck, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Francie C., Alberta, Canada.
Carl-Johan and Elisabet Carlberg, Stockholm, Sweden.
Christer and Anna Carlberg, Stockholm, Sweden.
Carl Cedricsson, Uppsala, Sweden.
Susan Cogan (her website), Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada.
Birgitta Conradson, Danderyd, Sweden.
Mats Conradson, Sollentuna, Sweden.
Anders Dahlquist, Uppsala, Sweden.
Margareta Douglas, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Andrew Gardiner, Manchester, England.
Renie Grosser, Victoria, BC, Canada.
Ingrid Hedénius, Uppsala, Sweden.
Ulla Hindbeck, Uppsala, Sweden.
Shirley Hollingsworth, Victoria, BC, Canada.
Donna Iverson, Victoria, BC, Canada.
Robert Kaplan, William's Lake, BC, Canada.
Barbara Leuty and Rick Brater, Seattle, WA, USA.
Randi Lindebo, Kristiansand, Norway.
Claes and Lone Lundgren, Buffalo, NY, USA.
Alan Mayhew, Victoria, BC, Canada.
Catherine McNabb, Singapore.
Hélène Meurer, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada.
Ted and Mary Mills, Victoria, BC, Canada.
Stephen Nierenburg, Inrederiet, Sollentuna, Sweden.
Solveig Nilsson, Uppsala, Sweden.
Willie Palm, Uppsala, Sweden.
Alan Rycroft and Kealey Pringle, Victoria, BC, Canada.
Monika Stenqvist Asplund, Järlåsa, Sweden.
William and Muriel Tassie, Victoria, BC, Canada.
Gene and Jane Toscani, Fort Lee, New Jersey, USA.
Stephen and Jeanette Varga, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Guy Wallster, Täby, Sweden.
Jin Wong, Victoria, BC, Canada.


* a collection is defined here as three or more paintings.

 

The process of painting, for me, is a continual search for balance between all opposite elements. not too bright - not too dark, not too colourful - not too gray, not too cluttered - not too barren, not too strong - not too weak, not too controlled - not too free. The interesting thing is that there seems to be an intuitive knowledge of where this balance lies. Painting allows one to familiarize oneself with this inner knowledge. And because of this knowledge one is able to be critical and tell oneself, “no, that is too bright, I need to tone that down”. Through this critical process of editing one gradually approaches balance and beauty. It is as if I am tuning the forms and colours in the painting like the strings of a guitar. And even though I may approach balanced beauty, I never really achieve it, which is what makes me want to try again and again. I feel that as long as there is a sense of preference pointing in the direction of perfection, there must exist an ideal beauty somewhere.

The quest for this is the grand joy and mystery of art.

West Coast Reflections (cover of), November 1991.
PRISM international (cover of), contemporary writing from Canada and around the World, winter 1994.
BC Festival of Arts (listing in catalogue), summer 2002.

 

 

June 14, 1998. Talent seeks an audience A coffee shop in CHINATOWN is featuring the new paintings of Ulf Enhörning (Bean Around the World, 533 Fisgard St., until June 28). In any other community, Enhörning's oils might be proudly displayed in more august surroundings, but here in Victoria there seem to be too many painters and not enough galleries (and buyers...). Enhörning's precisely delineated style looks like realism but it's more dreamlike than that. He paints cloudscapes with a sure hand and a haunting sense of form that seems at times hallucinogenic. Those curious cumuli scud across a pastel landscape where rolling hills are sometimes populated by tall houses that might be at home in Alice's wonderland. Most effective are the bare rooms he envisions, with windows that open out on to vacant seascapes. Pale morning sunlight slant geometrically down the walls and across the hardwood floor, bringing with it the mystery of Magritte and Christopher Pratt. Though this show is uneven, some of these paintings are the most memorable now on view in Victoria. Enhörning is an artist who hasn't found his audience, but he certainly has talent. by Robert Amos, Times Colonist, Victoria, BC

June 25, 1994. Ulf Enhörning is another artist who has taken matters in his own hands , yet the result is a far cry from the Cement Plant Gallery. Enhörning is a painter whose work has been shown here and there (Quin Gallery, Nievart Gallery, Look '93...). It may be his nature, at once loquacious and yet lacking in self confidence, that keeps him from being a hit in the commercial galleries. Or it may be his paintings , which are well-made but various in style and intentions. Enhörning expresses puzzled bemusement at the gallery world. People here seem impressed when he mentions his show in Stockholm, Sweden in May of this year, and in Sweden they seem impressed when he mentions his shows in Canada...but in fact, in neither place did the shows bring him fame and fortune. At the moment, he lives in a spacious third-floor apartment in an old building at 1419 Fort St. and has hung his paintings all the way up the stair well and in the room at the top. Enhörning is a talented oil painter. Some of his pictures are dark-toned abstractions with lots of cellular elements. Others are colour-field patterns with a light, even tonality. Colorful icebergs and midnight suns allude to a Nordic environment. Most appealing to me are his essentially empty landscapes. Primal elements (mountains, waves, receding hills, lollipop trees) are revealed in a bleached light, free from all narrative. These stripped forms bring to mind the paintings of Winnipeg artist L. Fitzgerald and the icebergs may allude to Lawren Harris. In fact, these paintings bear spiritual aspirations, just like Harris revealed his theosophical beliefs through the northern landscape. The radiant mountain scenes of Nicholas Roerich carry the same message. "The glory in nature that really is there all the time", is Enhörning's stated inspiration. The material world is a vibration which, when you tune into it, opens to reveal a divine light. The artist told me he has personally had profound experiences, "the sky opened, the heavens were singing, the glory of God was everywhere". He continued, telling me that it is "very important that people know that life is not just a material existence. It is very powerful in everybody's heart, this brotherly love and sisterly love. I don't know when it's going to happen", he continued alluding to the millennium, "but I know it's going to happen". Enhörning's paintings frequently reveal this attitude, making a powerful and peaceful statement about the underlying realities of life. Some of these images go a long way to enrich the life of a sympathetic person, and in this case the paintings are sold at prices somewhat below wholesale. If you have confidence in your taste and don't mind seeking art in a musty old apartment, check it out. by Robert Amos, Times Colonist, Victoria, BC.

Once a large oil of an arch framing clouds over waves caught my eye. A delicately colored guitar forms a poetic counterpoint to this smoothly painted idyll. The artist, Ulf Enhörning, has been on the fringe of acceptance in Victoria's art world, seen at the Quin Gallery and cafes for years. How could we not have noticed him before. And how is it that no one has come up with $1,500 to buy this large and graceful original? by Robert Amos, Times Colonist, Victoria, BC.

 

   Mother and son (4 years old)