Artist

Richard Brixel (1943 – 2019) was a Swedish sculptor working worldwide, born in Stockholm and living on Brixelgården.

He made exhibitions, installations, events, his sculptures are cast in bronze or mixed media. He also worked with paintings, drawings and lithographs.

The sculptures are from very small to larger than life size bronzes often placed on public areas in many countries around the world.

Apart from life his training was at the Stockholm University of Art, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts MAF, he also studied at the Royal Institute of Art and at the Philosophical, Art History and Law Faculties at the University of Stockholm.

Artist´s statement

Richard Brixel´s art is mostly dealing with questions of life as: dance, love, meetings, friendship, joy, power, oppression, liberation, death and what may come after.

To Brixel his art was a kind of metaphysical research, what is waiting around the corner and what might be expressed in sculpture and art; become real.

According to Brixel mystery exists; to him his art was a bearer, a medium for feelings, thoughts and knowledge.

Art is thus an allegory. Nobody really knows who the storyteller is neither now nor later. It is possible that in this life the true narrator will always remain unknown to us, or only imagined or guessed as in a sketch.

The classical training had taught Brixel that sketches are the bases, fundamental both with pen, brush and in clay work; sketching and modeling in a state of meditation.

It was a constant struggle with matter, but also the joy, and curiosity of finding the yet unknown.

Every detail was important.

Everything should be like his vision, nothing to be forgotten for the sake of the angels. Being a tool, as if something greater than yourself is leading the creation, is an experience Brixel often had.

As if time and space give place for something inexplicable, maybe the angels.

Why Brixel became an Artist

Brixel’s mother had to work so his granny Elsa often took care of him and his younger brother Gunnar.

Granny had her friends for coffee and the boys, especially Richard, gave them a hard time. Elsa tried to please them with paper, color crayons and whatever but his energy was devastating.

One-day granny found some clay and later on plasticine clay.

Richard was overwhelmed, liked the feeling of this new material but after some time he wanted more.

One of granny’s friends got the great idea to ask the little boy to make animals for her.

At first snakes, crocodiles and other animals easy to make but then he found out how to make big animals lying down, horses, cows, elks and the favorite of the ladies bears. First brown bears and then his specialty; the polar bears.

When growing up he went on making all kind of ships, full rigged ships with all details of the rigging, sails and whatever he could find out about them, then the age came to cars, again all different and as a teenager came the girls.

Drawing from nudes at evening classes during high school, croquis and what ever but always the nude body fascinated him.

Ships, cars, horses and of course the always-present human body

Brixel working

“When modeling he strikes the wet clay with hard pattering blows several meters above the ground.

Does he see anything?

Slow motion before the next crescendo.

No thoughts, only presence.

Intense, unknown expression on his face. A dancer in trance, a whirling figure in the struggle with the forces of creation.”