A WORLD OF MAGIC & MYSTERY
In nature there is both heaven and earth, energy, and harmony. This is where our contemporary artist finds his calling to create an enchanting tribute in bronze – a tribute to art, nature, and the magical world of John Bauer. In one of John Bauer's letters to his great love Ester Ellqvist, we find these lines:
"Where the sun has set in the evening, the sky is yellow, yellow like metal yellow against all the blue snow. Where the sky is clear, hard, and sharp. Then all the stars come - first in the blue zenith and finally flash all over the great high vault."
Now launches the John Bauer collection by Helle Bang - Edition 36 in table size, an exclusive edition of eleven bronze sculptures created as a tribute to the Swedish artist and illustrator John Bauer. The Danish artist Helle Bang has been inspired by the fairy tales that John Bauer made so famous and has carefully designed these tasteful figures with her own hands. Bauer himself tragically died 36 years young, but despite his brief time on earth he managed to shape the image of how we view the classic fairy tales. A world of images that lives on over a hundred years later, more sought after than ever. It is a true privilege to present parts of his magical life's work in this collection of eleven bronze sculptures in a limited edition of 36. Enter among gnomes and trolls in the deep, moss-heavy fairy-tale forest and explore the beautiful works.
Galleri Melefors together with the artist Helle Bang donate SEK 1,000 per sold sculpture from the Bauer Collection Edition 36 for the benefit of Lisa Bauer & The Bauer Quartet and their work in setting John Bauer's artwork to music and song.
A HOMAGE IN BRONZE
The beloved John Bauer only became 36 years old, but despite this managed to shape the original image of the Swedish folk tales. Now we are launching John Bauer Edition 36, an exclusive edition of bronze sculptures created as a tribute to the Swedish artist and fairy tale illustrator. Experience the famous illustrations take shape in front of you with your own hands. Let your fingertips follow the folds of the troll family's cloaks, the rocky ground, or the elk Skutt's magnificent antlers in enormous detail.
SCHOLARSHIP TO THE BAUER QUARTET
Galleri Melefors together with the artist Helle Bang donate SEK 1,000 per sold sculpture from the Bauer Collection Edition 36 for the benefit of Lisa Bauer & The Bauer Quartet and their work in setting John Bauer's artwork to music and song. When all works have sold in the edition of 11 different works, the scholarship amounts to a total of SEK 396 000.
HELLE BANG
Helle Bang has had solo and group exhibitions all over the Nordics and has also seen her statues and paintings adorn multitudes of public places and buildings. Since early childhood, she has been inspired by the mystery of nature. It was the fascination with the beauty of nature that led her to create a tribute to John Bauer.
Helle Bang's knowledgeable partner in the creation of the bronze sculptures is the caster Christian Simmelsgaard. Educated in Jönköping, the reunion with the John Bauer Collection has been a dream come true.
EXPLORE THE TALES AND WORKS
THE BOY AND THE TROLLS OR THE ADVENTURE
"LOOK AT THEM, SAID THE MOTHER TROLL. LOOK AT MY SONS! THERE ARE NO MORE BEAUTIFUL TROLLS THIS SIDE OF THE MOON"
The beautiful princess sits on a cold rock, deep in the dark forest. She is surrounded by trolls from the gray mountains who have taken her captive. The mother troll is absolutely delighted that the beautiful princess will marry one of her three troll sons. They try to impress the princess with fine gifts of silver, gold, and precious stones. But the princess is in despair and refuses to live the rest of her life trapped underground. Meanwhile, a young man, in search of adventure, is on his way through the forest. He has followed the trolls and manages to save the princess from them with the help of a magical spell he found on his journey through the great forest. A spell that only a young boy who is not afraid of trolls or the dark can cast.
From Walter Stenström's fairy tale "The Boy and the Trolls or the Adventure" illustrated by John Bauer in 1915, Helle Bang has captured the iconic scene with the mother troll and her three sons longing for marriage with the beautiful princess. The story ends happily with the boy managing to save her with the help of a spell that blows the troll away.
The wonderful works are offered individually but also together. The entire iconic scene from the fairy tale can be yours. If interested in the whole collection - make a price request and get in touch!
THE BOY AND THE TROLLS OR THE ADVENTURE
HELLE BANG - OLD MOTHER TROLL AT THE TABLE WITH THE PRINCESS
“Why don't you come to my room? The air there is absolutely fantastic! The windows haven't been opened in a thousand years. It is full of silver, gold and precious stones that shine and sparkle brighter than any star!”
From Walter Stenström's fairy tale "The Boy and the Trolls or the Adventure" illustrated by John Bauer in 1915, Helle Bang has captured the iconic scene. Old mother troll tries to convince the princess of all the wonderful things about being a troll so that the princess will want to marry one of her sons.
Size: 17 cm high, 40 cm long and 20 cm wide
Technique: Bronze
Edition: 36
Price: 39 000 SEK
THE STORY OF SKUTT THE MOOSE BULL AND THE LITTLE PRINCESS TUVSTARR
"HOLD ON FIRMLY TO MY HORNS WITH BOTH HANDS AND THEY WILL HAVE NO POWER OVER YOU"
In the fairy tale, the little princess Tuvstarr goes on adventures from the castle and the safe, but oh so boring, court. She wants to be free to explore and experience the outside world. She has the moose Skutt to help her. Wise and experienced, he tries to warn Princess Tuvstarr that the world is big, cold, and inhospitable; that the deep forest is full of evil dangers. But despite Skutt's advice, the treacherous fairies take Tuvstarr's crown, and the Mistress of the Forest take her dress. Finally, she drops her necklace with a golden heart in the deep dark forest pond and remains forever at its shore. The elk begs and begs Tuvstarr to come home with him, but she remains there by the water searching for her lost heart, forever staring down into the pond.
The pictures of John Bauer were published with "The tale of the elk bull Skutt and the little princess Tuvstarr" by Helge Kjelli in among gnomes and trolls in 1907.
HELLE BANG - SKUTT THE MOOSE AND THE LITTLE PRINCESS TUVSTARR
"Over there, you see the fairies. They seem kind and friendly but never trust them and beware of them. Hold on to my horns tight and firm with both hands, don't talk to them, pretend you don't see them, and they won't have power over you.”
With inspiration from Helge Kjellin's "The Tale of the moose bull Skutt and the little princess Tuvstarr" with illustrations by John Bauer. The moose Skutt takes Princess Tuvstarr on an adventure and tries to teach her about the world.
Size: Height 17 cm
Technique: Solid bronze
Edition: 8
Price: SEK 28 000 kr
THE PRINCESS TUVSTARR
You still see her today sometimes. The pure white flower was growing on the shore of the mossy pond deep in the heart of the great forest. Princess Tuvstarr forever searching for her lost jewel. She sits despairingly at the edge of the dark forest pond. The fairies took her crown, the forest raven her dress and finally she lost her necklace in the water. At the edge of the forest pond, she remains to this day. You can glimpse her spirit in the flower named after her - Tuvstarr.
HELLE BANG - PRINCESS TUVSTARRR AT THE FOREST POND
Size: 24 cm high
Technique: Solid bronze
Edition: 36
Price: SEK 21,000
THE BOY WHO WAS NEVER AFRAID
"HERE IS A PIECE OF A TROLL HERB, WHICH NO ONE BUT ME CAN FIND"
The story is about a boy who ventures into the depths of Hultaskogen to search for the cottage's only dairy cow that the trolls have taken. Since the boy cannot be afraid, he is kind-hearted and kind to all beings and things in the world. Why then would any of them wish the boy harm? Soon the boy meets Hultaskogen's green-haired witch, the Mistress of the Forest, who gets caught dangling by her long hair in a large fir tree. The boy helps her down and as a thank you receives a piece of a magic herb with which the boy can understand and speak to all the beings of the forest. Soon, with the help of his kindness, and the magic herb, he has won over the dreaded Bälgdog and the bear king of the forest to his side. With their help, the boy succeeds in freeing the family's dairy cow, Blomsterfina, from the trolls' hideous lair.
"The Boy Who Was Never Scared" was written by Alfred Smedberg and published with illustrations by John Bauer in 1912 in the magazine "Bland tomtar och troll".
HELLE BANG - THE BOY WHO WAS NEVER AFRAID
"Here you will get a piece of a magic herb, which (no one) more than I can find" – The grateful Mistress of the Forests gift to the boy who had just helped her. With the help of the magic herb in his ear, the boy can understand the animals of the forest.
The scene from Bauer's illustration interpreted by Helle Bang in bronze sculpture.
Size: Height 20 cm
Technique: Bronze
Edition: 36
Price: SEK 39 000
THE GOLDEN KEYS
LENA AND THE KNIGHT DANCING
The old king has died, and times have changed now that the queen rules the kingdom alone. The shepherdess Lena guards the queen's sheep and has an angelic singing voice. She is given a golden key by three fairies, a key to the paradise of dreams. There she meets a handsome knight with whom she dances every night. A knight who exists for real and courts the queen. Lena understands that it is the same man and tries to catch his attention. But the queen is cruel and subjects Lena to many torments. In the end, the three fairies intervene and conjure the cruel queen away so that Lena and the knight have each other and create their own paradise with flowers and birds.
"The Golden Keys" was written by WE Björk and published in "Bland tomtar och troll" with illustrations by John Bauer in 1915.
HELLE BANG - THE PRINCESS AND THE BIRD
In Helle Bang's interpretation, the shepherdess Lena has received her knight, become a princess, and together created her own dreamy paradise with flowers and birds. All fairy tales deserve a happy ending.
Size: Height 14 cm
Technique: Bronze
Edition: 36
Price: SEK 23 000
HELLE BANG - JOHN BAUER EDITION 36
Now the table-sized John Bauer Collection is being launched, an exclusive edition of bronze sculptures created as a tribute to the Swedish artist and fairytale illustrator John Bauer. The Danish artist Helle Bang has been inspired by the fairy tales that John Bauer made so famous and has carefully designed these tasteful figures with her own hands. Bauer himself tragically only became 36 years old, but despite his brief time on earth he managed to shape the image of how we view the classic fairy tales. A picture world that lives on over a hundred years later. It is a true privilege to present parts of his magical life's work in this collection of 11 bronze sculptures in a limited edition of 36. Enter among gnomes and trolls in the deep, moss-heavy fairy-tale forest and explore the beautiful works.
Galleri Melefors together with the artist Helle Bang donate SEK 1,000 per sold sculpture from the Bauer Collection Edition 36 for the benefit of Lisa Bauer & The Bauer Quartet and their work in setting John Bauer's artwork to music and song. For all sold works in the edition of 11 different works, the scholarship amounts to a total of SEK 396,000.
EXPLORE HELLE BANG'S JOHN BAUER - EDITION 36
HELLE BANG - JOHN BAUER UNIQUE SERIES 8
In an exclusive and powerful installation design, Helle Bang's tribute collection Unique series 8 leaves no viewer unmoved. Experience the sculptures come to life before your eyes in extraordinary detail. A tribute worthy of John Bauer's monumental work in shaping our collective image of the supernatural being of the deep forests and their world. Helle Bang - John Bauer Unique Series 8 was shown for the first time at the Antique Fair in 2022 and only a few copies are still available.
EXPLORE HELLE BANGS JOHN BAUER - UNIQUE SERIES 8
MICKE JOHANSSON
MAGICIAN WITH THE GLASS PIPE
Micke Johansson became a master glassblower at the tender age of 24 and is today famous for his incredibly advanced works of art in various combinations of the techniques Graal, Ariel and sculpted glass. He has developed the Double Ariel technique himself and is probably the only one in the world to be able to perform it.
With inspiration from John Bauer's fairytale world, Micke created an exclusive series of ten glass masterpieces in Graariel technique with matching pedestals in solid diabase. The series premiered during the Antique Fair in 2022 to great acclaim.
Photo: Hans Runesson
"I started at the glass school straight after junior high school. The plan was to learn engraving, but it turned out that I was a natural talent at glassblowing. After just a few months, Orrefors came and offered me permanent employment as a 16-year-old." - Micke Johansson
MICKE JOHANSSON'S BAUER HOMAGE
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