Wanås Sculpture Park in April

Wanås is a place that intertwines art with nature, the result being breathtaking. Wanås, located in the Skåne (Scania) region of Sweden, is comprised of a Danish castle (Skåne has a rich and unique history of being Danish in the past), an organic milk farm, a beautiful forest, a sculpture park, a very fun shop and a cafe that serves tasty organic lunches.

I visited the sculpture park after hearing inspiring reviews from friends and family. I was not disappointed.  The sculpture park is, as the name suggests,  a collection of sculptures in the wilderness of the forest of Wanås. Artists from all over the world have been invited to bring their contribution to this beautiful part of Sweden. The collection continues to grow and today more than 50 permanent art pieces can be admired at Wanås from artists such as Jacob Dahlgren, Dan Graham, Charlotte Gyllenhammar, Ann Hamilton, Henrik Håkansson, Jan Håfstrom, Jenny Holzer, Per Kirkeby, Marianne Lindberg De Geer, Srinivasa Prasad, Yoko Ono, Ann-Sofi Sidén and Robert Wilson, and others.

I have been there in early April and spend a couple of wonderful hours exploring the park. It was wonderful weather, perhaps the first perfect day in Sweden this year, and I had my camera to “document” it all. Here are a few pictures that I thought you might enjoy from my day at the sculpture park at Wanås:

Melissa Martin, Dining Room. The room is in the open space of the forest and is, in fact, a replica of one of the dinning rooms inside the castle. The forest is slowly taking over, trees growing now through the furniture and the wood taking the shade of the surrounding forest.

Pål Svensson, Sprungen Ur, 1996

Pål Svensson, Sprungen Ur, 1996 I thought the reflection of the forest was eerie and it felt almost magical to stare into it.

Pål Svensson, Sprungen Ur, 1996 Dried rain drops on the surface look like millions of stars gazing over the forest.

Anne Thulin Double Dribble, 2010 The park is a wonderful place to bring your child and screams of joy can be heard at every step from playful children. To me Doble Dribble is a testimony to the playfulness of the place and the beauty of childhood.

Sarah Schwartz Mother, 1990 Someone has left a small bouquet of wild flowers. Was it someone who has lost their mother? Was it a child’s gesture of love to their accompanying mother?

Antony Gormley Together and Apart, 1998 the statue is a full-scale solid iron cast figure of the artist’ own body

Antony Gormley Together and Apart, 1998

Thom Merrick, Whitney Outhouse of American Art, 1996 Although contrasting with the green forest in the summer, the building blends in well now in April.

Wanås Wall, delimiting the park’s perimeter.

Robert Wilson, A House for Edwin Denby, 2000 Impossible to enter inside where only a table with an open book is to be seen through a window. A sound installation creates a bizarre feeling by playing a non-sensical or fragmented speech.

Robert Wilson, A House for Edwin Denby, 2000

Lund University students, Faculty of Engineering. Tidens Trappa