Toivo Lundmark

Artist and sculptor from Piteå, Sweden. (1936-2011) Toivo Lundmark was born and raised in Munksund. He made his public debut as an artist in 1966. During his active time, he tried his hand at most things in technology and materials. He received his artistic education at Sunderbyn Folk High School. He received the most attention for his wooden works of art. He himself thought that enamel was one of the most fun things to work with, but he started by drawing and painting. He started working with wood quite a few years after his debut. It turned out that he found a fire pit in Sweden, with waste from the carpentry. Toivo Lundmark was a down-to-earth person who was in close contact with nature. Over the years, he showed a boldness in choosing his material. Lundmark's sculptures and reliefs were mostly built around large and small wooden blocks. In addition to wood, he used stone, glass, enamel, textiles and metal in his production. For a long time, the studio consisted of a tent that he operated during the summer, in Jönsbyn, Norrfjärden. Lundmark was fascinated in his creation of the early history of Norrbotten and he himself pointed out that Finnish literature offered a lot of information. This was individual and in combination gave him inspiration in his work and made him driven forward in his desire to achieve something. - I'm glad that I'm not such an artist who has fallen into the myth of himself. Those who suffer from it only become figures who have forgotten what it is like to be human, Toivo Lundmark pointed out on one occasion. Toivo Lundmark characterized himself a number of years ago as follows: "Constantly petty and slightly crazy, I am - despite the world's lies - not burned to ashes. However, through my belief in the individual in the collective, I want through temperament, strength, imagination, sensitivity and not least stubbornness trying to give people a bit of optimism. By the way, it is also the case that when the words are neither there nor enough, well, then the pictures and things take over ". He was a person who was not talkative, liked to discuss the world situation, both global and local injustices. Fun events and less fun, people, animals and nature were other topics he liked to talk about. "Sometimes I let my mouth go too far," he said at one point. - The world consists of lots of problems and the worst thing is that we in the west can look away or shrug. When I get involved in something that happens, I immediately start pondering how it can be visualized, he stated on one occasion and pointed out Toivo Lundmark in a newspaper interview a few years ago. - My art comments on the world, to change it is unfortunately rare. So if what I do is perceived as beautiful, it depends more on the material than on the motif. I always try to highlight the properties of the material, he further emphasized. Lundmark is publicly represented in many places in Sweden, but also in Norway. He has had solo exhibitions at even more, including in the US and Germany. A few years ago, he also exhibited in Piteå-Tidningen's art foyer. During the 1980s, two television programs about his art were shown on Swedish television. Previously, Toivo Lundmark was politically involved and then sat on the Piteå municipality's culture committee. He was a member of the artists' national organization. Lundmark's leisure time was taken up over the years by hunting, fishing, nightlife in the forest, literature, theater, general politics, philosophy, aesthetics and spending time with people. The cottage in Gråträsk was one of his best strawberry places, almost as long as he himself was an artist. His closest are two daughters and a son with families and life partner Sara Arnia.