Lisa Abelsson: A dance with the elements

By Nina Bressler | Photos: Lisa Abelsson

As a sculptor, curator and project leader, Lisa Abelsson moves fluidly between roles, materials and large-scale exhibition projects. Her practice spans iron and aluminium, blending hard industrial form with soft, historically charged references to clothing, dance and human presence. From castle residencies to major outdoor installations, her work is rooted in both personal memory and a deep engagement with art history and lived experience.

After starting her artistic journey relatively late, while raising three children, she gradually found her way into sculpture through life drawing sessions while living in Stockholm. What began as curiosity evolved into a sustained practice in sculpture, eventually leading her to a career with exhibitions across Sweden. Early influences include classical sculpture such as Rodin, as well as black-and-white film imagery and 1950s fashion – aesthetics she has injected into her distinctive artistic expression.

Hommage au Japon at Mollbrinks.

Her signature works combine iron torsos with flowing aluminium dresses, creating striking contrasts between strength and fragility. The bodies are rendered in hard iron, while the garments appear light, often mistaken for fabric at first sight though built from aluminium thread. The materials are intentional: aluminium resists outdoor conditions, allowing the sculptures to exist in public space over time. The result is a visual tension between hard and soft, where shadows, movement and detail become central.

Amber’s Dress at Norrviken Gardens.

A strong interest in dance, flamenco and opera informs her work, especially in pieces highlighting strong, self-reliant women. “There’s a consistent thread running across all of my work: it’s about using sculpture as storytelling, where every dress, body and gesture carries a human history beneath its surface. Art is about life and my art is about the human experience, by capturing our essence in shape and sculpture,” says artist Lisa Abelsson.

Recent years have been busy, with exhibitions at galleries across Sweden and a major outdoor display at Norrvikens Trädgårdar in Båstad on the Swedish west coast. 2026 will continue in a similar manner, with a major exhibition at Österlens Museum running from 29 November to 15 February 2027, with further exhibitions at Kiviks Konsthall and Ulriksdals Trädgård starting in September.