The Institut suédois is closed on 1 May 2024.
Close notice

Discussion: Lars Fredrikson and the poets

An artist who worked with sound, Lars Fredrikson was also an avid reader of French poets and writers. To coincide with the exhibition « Suivre les ondes », four poets and publishers will be discussing his work relating to books of poetry.
Photo of book shelves presenting art books.

When he lived in the South of France From the 1960s onwards, Lars Fredrikson created a prolific body of work that may be called revolutionary in the fields of kinetic sculpture, images, sound and new technologies: a world of sound and vision was also very open to the fields of literature and poetry.

Lars Fredrikson avidly read French poets and writers such as Claude Royet-Journoud, Anne-Marie Albiach, Jean Daive, Roger Giroux, Édmond Jabès and Roger Laporte. Based on their books and texts, he created artist’s books, sound works, engravings and articles in a range of different magazines. In 1979, the Centre culturel suédois, which was to become the Institut suédois, presented sound pieces by Lars Fredrikson based on texts by Jean Daive and Claude Royet-Journoud. These works, part violent, part fragile, are strangely intense.

A panel of Swedish poets and publishers will be discussing his work:

  • Francis Cohen is a poet, anthologist, magazine contributor and critic
  • Helena Eriksson is a poet and translator
  • Éric Pesty is the founder of the eponymous publishing house devoted to contemporary poetry

Moderator: Jonas (J) Magnusson, a writer, publisher, critic and translator. He edits the journal OEI, devoted to poetry, contemporary art, philosophy and the life of ideas.

Useful information

  • Admission free, prior booking not required.
  • The discussion will be in French.