In recent years, Vårsalongen has grown into a large and well-attended event, giving participants a unique chance to be seen by a very large audience. In both 2018 and 2019, Vårsalongen had over 100,000 visitors – figures that show its unique appeal.
The explanation for the vitality and lustre of the Spring Salon can be found in its breadth, in the openness to various artistic expressions, in the meeting between younger and older participants and in the mixture of professionalism and amateurism in its best sense.
More than twice as many women as men submitted applications this year. Of the 170 adopted, 97 were women and 73 were men, and the average age is 49. The oldest in the group is an 84-year-old man from Askim and the youngest are two young women from Kumla and Johanneshov, both 19 years old.
About half of the graduates come from the Greater Stockholm area. Otherwise, the spread is large, from Ystad to Junosuando.
Like most years, painting is the most popular technique with 168 works, including mixed techniques based on painting. Photography comes back after a few years of weaker representation – 34 works are included this time. 28 works are drawings and the same figure is noted for sculpture/objects, in addition to which 16 works in mixed technology with objects.
Every year, a few thousand people apply to Vårsalongen and it goes without saying that someone, or some, must make a selection among the submitted works to create the art festival that we want the exhibition to be. Liljevalchs has had the privilege of engaging a particularly exciting jury for the 2020 Spring Salon: artist Lars Lerin and artist and designer Bea Szenfeld. As usual, the chairman of the jury is Mårten Castenfors, Head of Liljevalchs.