Torsten Jurell exhibits ”FISKEN I SKYN-2” at Galleri Thomassen, 8/3/ – 30/3/ 2025.

‘’The fish lives in the water, while birds move freely in the vast sky.
How can a fish, which seems to be a prisoner of the water, feel the freedom of the sky?
The fish transcends the boundaries of space, the distances between countries, and even communication between people.
In this context, the fish is not just a fish, it represents the personal, individual self.
We are building a new sky for ourselves, allowing the fish to reach further than ever before and convey the ultimate, romantic spirit of freedom.’’

Fisken I Skyn -2 is inspired by Chinese philosophy and mythology and presents a collection of Jurell’s works that have never been exhibited in Sweden before. The exhibition introduces a range of works in different mediums, including sculpture, collage, and painting, alongside a curated selection of works from Jurell’s 50-year-long career. In his works Jurell blends Eastern and Western influences through a contemporary perspective.

In 2023, Torsten Jurell spent three months at the Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai, creating paintings, collages, and texts while hosting an open studio exhibition. Some of these works were displayed in 2024 at Hallwylska Museum in Stockholm, with a focus on sculptures of Chinese mythological creatures. The project later culminated in a book (Ordfront Förlag, 2024) and now reaches its peak in the exhibition Fisken I Skyn -2.

Torsten Jurell (b. 1951), based in Sweden and China, has had his works represented in several renowned institutions, including the CAFA Art Museum in China, the Musée d’Histoire Contemporaine in Paris, and the Hamburg Museum. Since the 1970s, he has exhibited regularly in Gothenburg, including two major solo exhibitions at the Röhsska Museum, as the final exhibitor at “141:an,” and at the Lindholmen Science Park. He has also created the “Fyra Vindarna” along the harbour at Norra Älvstranden and, in 2019, designed “Torget för Fri Fantasi” at Pedagogen Park in Mölndal, featuring a large floor mosaic made in glazed porcelain from Jingdezhen, with porcelain and neon wall reliefs.