A compelling mid-century abstract composition built around a dramatic interplay of saturated blue, earthy brown and passages of chalky white, painted in oil onto canvas by the established Swedish painter Hans Osswald (1919-1983), whose works have been exhibited at the National Museum in Stockholm, Malmö Museum as well as The Brooklyn Museum.

The painting feels architectural in its construction, with overlapping forms suggesting fragmented structures, rock faces or perhaps an abstracted figure emerging from the composition. While firmly non-representational, there is a subtle sense of landscape and monumentality within its vertical forms.

The palette is particularly striking. Intense cobalt and ultramarine blues dominate the right-hand side, shifting into softer cornflower and powder blue towards the centre. These cool tones are counterbalanced by a broad expanse of deep umber and warm chestnut brown, while charcoal, inky navy and crisp white provide strong graphic contrasts.

The artist works with an expressive, layered approach, combining broad areas of flat colour with more gestural passages of paint. Scraping, scumbling, dry brushwork and areas of heavier impasto create a wonderfully varied surface, particularly through the centre of the composition. Fine linear marks and visible drips interrupt the larger blocks of colour, lending the work a spontaneous, almost collage-like quality. The contrast between controlled geometric forms and looser, textured marks gives the painting both structure and movement.

This oil on canvas is housed in a complementary linen-lined wood frame with an inner silver window. The painting is in good vintage condition overall, with minor signs of age. There is a small dent to the canvas at the middle left-hand side and a small area of paint loss within the white passage at the lower right of which the paint layer is in stable condition.

Size: 86 x 76 cm (including frame)

A striking mid-century composition that presents a rhythmic display of abstracted figures moving through a fractured, almost mosaic-like landscape, executed in oil onto canvas by Swedish artist Gunnar Greiber (1919 – 2011), whose works have been exhibited in public collections including the Moderna Museet, Västerås Art Museum, Sundsvall Museum, Östersund Museum, Hudiksvall Museum, as well as the Hälsingland Museum.

Slender, linear forms – rendered in vivid red- suggest human silhouettes, gathering across a dense field of angular shapes. These figures feel both primitive and modern, evoking a sense of movement and quiet connectivity within an otherwise chaotic environment.

Stylistically, the painting leans into mid-century abstraction with strong influences of cubism and figurative modernism. The scene is constructed from interlocking geometric planes, compressing depth and perspective into a flattened, dynamic surface. The figures are reduced to essential lines and nodes, almost symbolic in nature, contrasting sharply with the weightier, block-like forms that surround them.

The colour palette is rich and earthy, dominated by deep reds, burgundy, plum, and umber, interspersed with cooler passages of slate blue, charcoal, and muted lavender. Occasional accents of green and pale cream provide visual relief, while the recurring red linear figures create a unifying thread across the composition.

Brushstrokes are confident and expressive, with visible texture throughout. Paint is applied in thick, deliberate patches, giving each geometric fragment a tactile presence. The interplay between matte and slightly more saturated passages enhances the sense of depth, despite the overall flattened structure. The result is a compelling balance between order and spontaneity – an intricate visual rhythm that invites the eye to wander and discover new relationships within the composition.

This oil on canvas is presented in an elegant wood frame with a linen-lined outer border and an inner gilt window. Both the painting and frame are in excellent vintage condition. 

Size: 78 x 59 cm (including frame)