Biography

Born on 15 November in Stockholm, to the mining engineer Olof Rodhe and his wife Willy Rodhe.

The family lives in Rahlstedt, Hamburg.

Studies at Edward Berggren’s studio in Stockholm and Tekniska skolan (renamed Konstfack in 1945).

Studies under Peter Rostrup Bøyesen in Copenhagen.

Enrols at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm.

Returns to Copenhagen, studies anatomy at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.

Returns to Stockholm to study at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.

Spends the summer at Rönnäng, Tjörn.

Spends the summer at Rönnäng, Tjörn.

Participates in the Sveriges Allmänna Konstförening’s autumn salon at the Royal Academy in Stockholm. Spends the summer at Vävra, Bohuslän.

Graduates from the Royal Academy. Studies under Sven X-et Erixson during his final year.

Marries Eivor Burbeck. Participates in Internationell ung konst (International Young Art) at Uppland art society on 23 March – 4 April at Östgöta nation, Uppsala. Participates in God konst i hem och samlingslokaler (Good Art in Private and Public Spaces) at the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, and creates his first lithography, Växthuset (The Greenhouse), for the exhibition.

Visits Oslo in the spring, as a Carl Larsson art grant recipient. Spends the summer in Gerlesborg. Visits the sawmill in Strömsberg, Uppland, in the autumn.

Returns to Strömsberg on a visit at the beginning of the year. Participates in an exhibition of abstract art organised by Riksförbundet för bildande konst (now Riksutställningar – Swedish Exhibition Agency). Participates in Ung konst (Young Art) at Galleri Färg och Form, Stockholm, in April. First trip to France and Italy.

Begins mural, Trappans tema (Stair Theme) for the drawing classroom at Ängbyskolan, Stockholm. Exhibits with Lage Lindell and Egon Møller-Nielsen at Galleri Blanche in Stockholm in April-May.

Spends the summer in Gerlesborg, where he creates the design for Paket i långa banor (Long Lines of Packages) for the new post office in Östersund. Participates in an exhibition of 1940s art with Randi Fisher, Olle Gill, Einar Lynge-Ahlberg, Arne Jones, Nils Nixon, Pierre Olofsson, Karl Axel Pehrson, Armand Rosander, Bengt Sjögren, and Uno Wallman, at Skånska Konstmuseum, Lund.

Participates in the Christmas exhibition at Galleri Färg och Form in Stockholm.

Participates in Konkretisterna (Concretists), Luleå konstgille, Gamla läroverket school, 1-11 June. Participates in the touring exhibition Ny realitet, Fritz Reuterswärds samling (New Reality, Fritz Reuterswärd’s collection), organised by Riksförbundet för bildande konst (now Riksutställningar – Swedish Exhibition Agency). Participates in Det moderna museet (The Modern Museum), Liljevalchs konsthall, Stockholm, 5 September – 8 October. Travels to Algeria.

Travels to Spain and Morocco.

Divorces Eivor Burbeck. Solo exhibition at Galleri Blanche in April, showing colour crayon drawings from North Africa in the graphic section. Participates in an HSB exhibition in September, God konst i alla hem (Good Art in Every Home), Liljevalchs konsthall, Stockholm. Participates in Nutida svensk grafik i svart och vitt (Contemporary Swedish Prints in Black and White), the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 23 October –8 November.

Participates in touring exhibition, The City, organised by Riksförbundet för bildande konst (now Riksutställningar – Swedish Exhibition Agency). Participates in Salon de Mai, Paris. Unveiling of Paket i långa banor, a glazed terracotta brick wall at Östersund Post Office, in June. Spends the summer in Gerlesborg. Marries Margareta Forsberg. Participates in touring exhibition Det unga måleriet (Young Painting), organised by Riksförbundet för bildande konst (now Riksutställningar – Swedish Exhibition Agency). Participates in drawing exhibition, Svart-Vitt (Black-White), at Gummessons konsthall, Stockholm.

Participates in L’art Suédois, Galerie Denise René, Paris, in March-April. Group exhibition with Karl Axel Pehrson, Olle Bonniér, and Pierre Olofsson, at Uppsala studenters konststudio. Participates in the spring salon STAD (CITY) at Galleri Brinken, Stockholm, in May. Spends the summer in Gerlesborg. Temporary position as professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm.

Participates in the exhibition Schwedische Grafik der Gegenwart, Behnhaus, Lübeck, in connection with the “Nordic Days”, in June. Unveiling of Trappans tema (Stair Theme), wall painting on canvas, at Ängby Läroverk school, in September. Travels to Rome in the autumn.

From Rome, he goes to Capri, Tyrol and Sardinia. Participates in Junge Schwedische Kunst, Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart, 6 – 24 November. Participates in the touring exhibition, Tre målare kring en idé (Three Painters on One Idea) with Olle Nyman and Ragnar Sandberg, Riksförbundet för bildande konst (now Riksutställningar – Swedish Exhibition Agency). Exhibition, På resa (Travelling), Östersund Art Club, ÖPR light well, 21-28 November.

Participates in Akvareller (Watercolours) at Galleri Gummesson, Stockholm, February. Participates in Konstnärer på Söder (Södermalm Artists), Stockholm City Museum, April. Participates in Mostra di Arte Nordica Contemporanea, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, organised by the Nordic Art Association. Participates in Swedish Abstract, a touring exhibition in the USA organised by the Nationalmuseum. Travels to St Tropez, France. Begins working on the glass window Fruktträdgård (Orchard) for Svenska Handelsbanken’s head office in Stockholm. Temporary position as professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm.

Wall painting in stucco lustro, Astra staff canteen, Södertälje, with Pierre Olofsson, Olle Bonniér, Karl Axel Pehrson, and Lage Lindell.

Group exhibition 6, with Olle Bonniér, Karl Axel Pehrson, Lage Lindell, Pierre Olofsson, and Arne Jones, Malmö Museum, 3 March – 2 April.

Participates in Svensk konst idag (Swedish Art Today), Riksförbundet för bildande konst. Elected a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.

Unveiling of Fruktträdgården (The Orchard), glass window for Svenska Handelsbanken, Stockholm, in September. Exhibition, Fruktträdgården (The Orchard), Svensk-Franska konstgalleriet, Stockholm. Travels to the Canary Islands. Participates in Schwedische Grafik der Gegenwart, Landesmuseum, Münster, in October. Participates in Svenska konstnärer i exotiska länder (Swedish Artists in Exotic Countries), Riksförbundet för bildande konst. Participates in Svensk nutidskonst (Swedish Contemporary Art), Lunds konsthall, September. Participates in the Nordic Art Association’s exhibition Nordisk konst (Nordic Art) 1947 – 1957, Göteborgs Konstmuseum and Göteborgs Konsthall, Gothenburg, in October.

Teaches as a professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm.

Participates in Arbeten i stucco lustro, fresk, mosaik och stuck (Works in Stucco Lustro, Fresco, Mosaic and Stucco) at Galleri Gummessons, Stockholm. Participates in Nordisk abstrakt konst (Nordic Abstract Art) at Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo. Participates in the Guggenheim International Award, New York. Exhibition at Galleri Gummessons, Stockholm, in October-November. Travels to Spain.

Participates in Tjugo målningar, tjugo konstnärer (Twenty Paintings, Twenty Artists) at Galleri Gummessons in February. Participates in V Bienal de São Paulo in September. Participates in Då och nu, svensk grafik 1600 – 1959 (Then and Now, Swedish Prints 1600 – 1959) at Liljevalchs konsthall, Stockholm, in October.

Decor and costumes for Rites and The Flying Dutchman at the Royal Opera, Stockholm. Participates in the Nordiska Grafikunionen exhibition, showing his lithographic triptych Årstiderna (The Seasons), at Liljevalchs konsthall, Stockholm, in November.

Makes the stoneware walls Måsen (The Seagull) and Kullan (Woman from Dalecarlia) for Dalagatan 32 and 34 in Stockholm.

The tapestry Trädet (The Tree) for the restaurant Operakällaren in Stockholm marks the beginning of his collaboration with Edna Martin and Handarbetets Vänner (the Association of Friends of Textile Art). Participates in Modern samling (Modern Collection) at Lunds konsthall in January. Participates in Graphica IV, Lunds Konsthall, on 26 March – 16 April. Participates in 1947 års män (The Men of 1947), Spånga Art Society, in March. Participates in 100 Years of Swedish West-Coast Painting, Riksförbundet för bildande Konst (now Swedish Exhibition Agency). Participates in the Sveriges Allmänna Konstförening exhibition Hav och kust (Sea and Coast) at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Stockholm. Participates in a group exhibition at Gummessons, Stockholm, in September. Participates in Final at Galleri Blanche, Stockholm, in September. Begins working on Seston for the Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University.

Buys Flivik in Småland as a holiday house. Awarded a scholarship by the Swedish Printmakers’ Association in February. Participates in Grafiska förberedelser (Graphic Preparations), organised by Swedish Printmakers’ Association at Moderna Museet, Stockholm, on 3 February – 11 march. Korset (The Cross), tapestry for Uppenbarelsekyrkan church in Hägersten, Stockholm. 1944-1962, an exhibition at Galleri Burén, Stockholm, in November – December.

Unveiling of the two enamel walls of Seston, at the Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, in November. Shows sketches for Seston at Uppsala Konsthall, 17 November – 1 December. Begins work on Harpolek (Harp) for Stålforsskolan school in Eskilstuna.

Harpolek (Harp), sand-blasted slate wall for Stålforsskolan, Eskilstuna, is completed. Begins working on Dag och Natt (Day and Night) for Dagens Nyheter, Stockholm. Participates in NU 64 (NOW 64) at Norrköpings Konstmuseum, in June. Participates in 11 målare (11 Painters), Skövde konsthall, in November. Exhibition at Aura, Krognoshuset, Lund, on 7 – 22 November.

Participates in the Stockholm Salon 1964 at Liljevalchs, Stockholm, on 7 February – 8 March.

Participates in the Swedish Printmakers’ Association’s touring exhibition in Poland, organised by NUNSKU.

The tapestry Familjen (The Family) for the insurance company Ansvar, Stockholm. Begins working on Tecken (Signs) for the National Archives, Stockholm. Also starts work on Utflykt till Blå Junfgrun (Excursion to Blå Jungfrun) for Oskarshamns Sparbank. Participates in an exhibition on Nordic arts at the Decorative Arts Museum in Palais Rohan, Strasbourg, on 19 March – 3 April. Participates in an exhibition of modern Swedish painting and sculpture in Cologne on 29 September – 19 November.

Unveiling of Utflykt till Blå Jungfrun (Excursion to Blå Jungfrun), a stoneware wall at Oskarshamns Sparbank, in September. Participates in Förvandlingar (Transformations): en utställning 1947 års män (The Men of 1947), at Norrköpings Konstmuseum, in November. Unveiling of Dag och Natt (Day and Night), a stoneware wall for Dagens Nyheter, Stockholm, in December.

Awarded the City of Stockholm honorary prize for Dag och Natt (Day and Night). De ståndaktiga (The Stalwarts), a stoneware wall for the school Fruängens skola, Stockholm. Rosentjuven (The Rose Thief), a tapestry for the Grängesbergsbolaget site office in Oxelösund. Cirklar i vatten (Circles on the Water), a design for the dam and fountains outside the Court House in Södra Möre, Kalmar. Participates in Moderna Museet Visits Tampere, Tampere Art Museum, 9 February – 10 March.

A retrospective exhibition at Konstforum, Norrköping, in March. Participates in Lennart Rodhe och kretsen kring honom 1948 – 1968 (Lennart Rodhe and His Circle in 1948 – 1969, at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Stockholm, in October. Embarks on a collaboration with the silkscreen printer Ove Löf.

Designs a bishop’s cape and mitre for the Diocese of Växjö.

Participates in an exhibition of graphic art at Galerie Bleue, Stockholm, in January. Tapestry, Speglande tecken (Reflecting Signs), Lund City Library. Stoneware stele, Stadens tecken (City Signs), at Marabouparken, Sundbyberg. Spegelgubbar (Mirror Men), wrought iron, Jakobsbergsskolan school.

Makes 46 screen prints with the printer Ove Löf, commissioned by Konstfrämjandet.

Graphic Works 1945-1971, Konstnärshuset’s print group, Konstfrämjandet, Stockholm, 24 April- 12 May, and the exhibition Förarbeten till grafiska verk (Sketches for Prints), at Konstnärshuset’s print gallery, in March. The exhibition Fyra årtionden (Four Decades), Riksutställningar – Swedish Exhibition Agency. Participates in Stilleben (Still-Lifes) at Sveagalleriet, Stockholm, in August. Participates in Idylles et aggresions, organised by the National Committee for the Exhibition of Contemporary Swedish Art Abroad (NUNSKU), in association with the Swedish Printmakers’ Association, and Centre Culturel Suédois, Paris, 23 September – 27 October.

Unveiling of the tapestries Tecken i arkivet (Signs in the Archive), the National Archives.

The exhibition 46 serigrafier (46 Silk Screens) 1970-72, at Konstfrämjandet, Stockholm, in September, touring to other venues throughout Sweden. Participates in Exhibition of Swedish Prints, Northern Arts Gallery, Newcastle. Blomsterväv (Floral Tapestry), textile design for the x-ray waiting room at Uppsala University Hospital. Brudslöja (Bridal Veil), Tapestry, the Archbishop’s secretariat, Uppsala. Participates in print exhibition at Museo de Arte, São Paulo, organised by NÙNSKU, 24 August – 24 September.

Participates in Grafik idag (Prints Today), an exhibition of prints at Vänersborg Museum. Starts working on Shiva, a cotton curtain for the Kulturhuset auditorium in Stockholm.

Äventyr i oändligheten (Adventures in Infinity), plain weave with appliqué and wrought iron, Norrevångsskolan school in Eslöv.

An extended version of Fyra årtionden (Four Decades), Riksutställningar – Swedish Exhibition Agency, with the Swedish Association for Art, at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Stockholm, on 3 – 25 March. Exhibition Det stora äventyret (The Great Adventure) 1967 – 1973, Kulturnämnden, Eslöv. Participates in an exhibition at Lidköpings Konsthall organised by the Swedish Printmakers’ Association and Lidköpings konstförening. Participates in Schwedishe Tage, Ingelheim am Rhein, 5 May – 11 June.

Begins working on the tapestry Guld och gröna skogar (Gold and Green Forests), for Riksbanken, Stockholm.

Participates in 40-tal (The 1940s), Konstnärsbolaget, in Stockholm on 28-September – 16 October.

Participates in Svensk grafik, an exhibition of Swedish graphic art, at Sandvikens Konsthall, in January.

Unveiling of the Guld och gröna skogar (Gold and Green Forests) tapestry at Riksbanken, Stockholm, in April. The exhibition Redovisning (Declaration) at Konstnärshuset, Stockholm, organised by the print group, 3 – 25 April. Participates in Hommage à Herbin, Institut Français, Stockholm, 7 May – 19 June, and Norrköpings Konstmuseum, 4 July – 15 August. Unveiling of the textile print Shiva at the Kulturhuset Auditorium, Stockholm, June. Exhibition at Södertälje Konsthall, October – November. Exhibition at Sydöstra Sveriges Konstförening/Kulturhusets Konsthall, Oskarshamn, 12 – 22 December.

The Flying Dutchman with Lennart Rodhe’s stage design opens at the Royal Opera in Stockholm. Participates in 1947 års män (The Men of 1947), Riksutställningar – Swedish Exhibition Agency.

Exhibits at the art society Östersunds konstklubb – Ahlbergshallen, Östersund, in April. Participates in a group exhibition at Galleri Briggen, Västervik.

Solo exhibition at Galleri Blanche, Stockholm, February—March. Participates in an exhibition of church textiles organised by the Association of Friends of Textile Art, at Licium, Stockholm, in March. Participates in an exhibition at the Print Council Galleries, Melbourne. Participates in Emalj (Enamel), Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm, 28 September – 4 November.

Exhibition at Galleri Engelbrekt, Örebro, in November.

Exhibition, Tiveden, at Gunnar Olssons konsthandel, Stockholm, 24 January – 19 February. Participates in Sextant, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 15 April – 1 June.

Exhibition Mönster (Patterns), Göteborgs Konstmuseum, in July – October. Exhibition at the art society Lasarettets konstklubb, Karlskrona, in October. Exhibition at Bildhörnan, Umeå. Participates in a touring exhibition, Konkret överblick (Concrete Overview), Riksutställningar – Swedish Exhibition Agency.

The exhibition Tecken (Signs), works 1967 – 1983, at Galerie Bleue, Stockholm, in March. Participates in Från grafikernas verkstad (From the Printmakers’ Studio), Göteborgs Konstmuseum.

Collaborates with Kasthall’s studio in Kinna, designs the carpets Trädet (The Tree) and Strömmen (The River) for The Thiel Gallery, Stockholm. The exhibition Esquisses du mur de mon atelier (Sketches from my Studio Wall) 1973-1984, Centre Culturel Suédois, Paris, 30 May – 11 July. Participates in Schwedische Zeichnung: gestern und heute, Albertina, Vienna, organised by NUNSKU, the National Committee for the Exhibition of Contemporary Swedish Art Abroad.

Exhibition at Galleri Olsson, February. Exhibition at Konstnärshuset, organised by the print group, February. Participates in Möten Gerlesborg 50-tal (Encounters Gerlesborg 1950s), Västerås Konstmuseum, March. Centro de Arte y Communicacion, Buenos Aires, group exhibition, prints, organised by NUNSKU. Participates in an exhibition at Gummessons, Stockholm, in May.

Exhibition, Serigrafier (Screen Prints), Konstfrämjandet Gallery, Norrköping, in February. Participates in the Print Triennial in Linköping and Norrköping.

Participates in Gunnar Olsson’s event at the Art Fair, Sollentuna, in April. Participates in Swedish Textile Art, the Association of Friends of Textile Art. Participates in an exhibition at Grafioteket, Stockholm.

Konkret i Norden, 1907 – 1960 (Nordic Concrete, 1907 – 1960), Nordiskt Konstcentrum, Suomenlinna, Helsinki.

Lennart Rodhe, a retrospective at Moderna Museet, Stockholm, 16 April – 5 June, and at Göteborgs Konstmuseum, 15 June – 4 September. Exhibition, Teckningar (Drawings), Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 16 April – 5 June. Exhibition, Färggrafik (Colour Prints), with sketches for the screen print Glänta (Clearing), at Galleri Boj, Stockholm, 28 April – 27 May. Exhibition, Blockarbeten (Block Prints), Galleri Gunnar Olsson, 1 – 25 October.

Exhibition, Gallerihuset, Östersund, 1 – 16 April. Exhibition at FIAC, Paris, organised by Gunnar Olsson, October.

An exhibition at Galleri Olsson, Stockholm, featuring originals for illustrations in the SAK book. Participates in Kasthall’s 100th Anniversary, at Svenskt Tenn, Stockholm, showing the carpet Kärven (The Sheaf). Exhibition Oeuvre 1988–1990, FIAC, organised by Gunnar Olsson. Exhibition Grafik (Prints) 1989–1990, 24 November – 16 December, Galleri Christina Höglund, Stockholm. Tapestries Eufori (Euphoria) and Fallet (The Case), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm.

Participates in 13 samtida (13 Contemporaries) Waldemarsudde, Stockholm, 26 December – 10 March, 1991.

Exhibition at Galleri Oijens, Gothenburg. Tiveden – tema med variationer (Tiveden – Variations on a Theme), Kalmar Konstmuseum, 8 June – 25 August. Four art pillars outside Kalmar Konstmuseum. Rodhe som grafiker (Rodhe, the Printmaker), Konstnärshuset, Stockholm, 9 November – 15 December.

Summer exhibition at Galleri Kamras, Borgholm. Exhibition at Galleri Christina Höglund, Stockholm. Exhibition at Gallerihuset, Östersund. Exhibition at Uppsala Konsthall.

Stockholm Art Fair, Galleri Christina Höglund.

Exhibition, Lennart Rodhe som textilare (Lennart Rodhe, the Textile Artist), Lunds Konsthall and the Museum of Sketches, Lund, 29 January – 12 March; Waldemarsudde, Stockholm, 5 May – 17 September.

Screen print, Spel med kulor (Game with Marbles), for Svenska Penninglotteriet (Swedish national lottery) and Grafikens hus. Tre dimensioner: samtida svensk textil konst (Three Dimensions: Contemporary Swedish Textile Art), Textilmuseet Borås, Rydals Museum. Participates in Zeichner 6: 8 Zeichner aus Schweden: Channa Bankier, Helene Billgren, Rune Claesson, Lova Hamilton, Maria Lindberg, Torsten Renqvist, Lennart Rodhe, Eva Zettervall, Städtische Galerie im Schlosspark Strünkede, Herne, 30 October, 1998 – 10 January, 1999.

Exhibition, Contrasts, Galerie Bel’Art, Stockholm, 23 October – 22 November.

Exhibition, Swedish Modernism, Galerie Bel’Art, Stockholm, 11 November – 5 December.

Exhibition, Paintings 1947 – 1958, Galerie Bel’Art, Stockholm, 21 April – 19 May.

Exhibition, Swedish Masters, Galerie Bel’Art, Stockholm, 13 April – 15 May.

Exhibition at Galleri Embla, Stockholm, 8 – 26 February.

Exhibition with Jesper Gierow, Georg Suttner, Nils G Stenqvist and Yngve Henriksen at Galleri Embla, Stockholm, 30 October – 21 November.

Lennart Rodhe dies in Stockholm on 17 January.

Lennart Rodhe, Memorial Exhibition at the Thiel Gallery, Stockholm, 11 June – 18 September. Exhibition, The Triangles: 1947 – 1948, Galerie Bel’Art, Stockholm, 29 October – 30 November.