See Axel Stohlberg’s ‘House’ collage, sculpture exhibit at the Vermont Supreme Court

Nov. 21, 2022  |  By Mary Gow  |  Times Argus Arts Review

House Designed,' wood sculptures by Axel Stohlberg. Photo by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur/Times Argus

The geometric shape of a gable roofed house is instantly recognizable. 

Even without details, or when skewed or stretched, the shape brings to mind associations or memories. It’s a shape that Axel Stohlberg has been exploring for decades. 

“House: Collage and Sculpture by Artist Axel Stohlberg” opened in October at the Vermont Supreme Court Gallery and continues to Dec. 30. 

The show features collages with matte black and gray pastel paper and sculptures in raw and black painted wood. Solitary, clustered, floating, tipping, in pairs and trios, Stohlberg’s houses interact with each other and gray horizons in evoking relationships and sense of place.

“This is an insightful exhibition that we are excited to share with our audience,” said Vermont State Curator David Schutz. “Axel leaves it up to the viewer to create their own narrative for each piece. He weaves a story of personal growth, influenced by a sense of belonging and safety within each space. This is a show not to be missed.” 

'Cluster,' wood sculpture by Axel Stohlberg. Photo by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur/Times Argus

Stohlberg, who lives in Middlesex, has worked as a mixed media artist for more than 50 years. He founded Axel’s Gallery and Frame Shop in Waterbury in 1983, owning it until 2013 and it still bears his name. He has exhibited nationally and is collected internationally. Stohlberg adroitly moves between painting, drawing, sculpture and assemblage with recognizable images and abstraction.

“If you ask me what I love most about being an artist, it is the search, the experimental spirit embedded in my practice, and the feeling of discovery defined by the rare moments when I surprise myself,” said Stohlberg in his artist’s statement for “House.”

“My life experience forms the conviction that creative insight follows from a willingness to push materiality and methods of making. I believe that my cross disciplinary practice supports this, as a method pursues new ways to approach a visual concept,” he writes. 

Stohlberg’s “House” collages fill the front portion of the Supreme Court Gallery. Almost all are square — 12 inches by 12 inches — a smaller format than often in this gallery. 

The bold black, gray, white works stand out, and also invite closer viewing.

‘Good Fit.' Painted and raw pine. Courtesy Axel Stohlberg

“Personally, the house shape means a lot to me in so many ways and I think it means things to everybody. I like that everybody can relate to it. It’ll bring up ideas or memories,” said Stohlberg.

“I have my own personal memories and feelings about the shape … I guess it’s the personal stuff that keeps bringing me back to it. It’s such an iconic strong image,” he said. 

Through the years, Stohlberg has considered the house shape in many media — paintings, drawings, collage with color, as well as sculpture, including with stone, wood, wire, metal and combining materials in assemblages.

“In this work, I just stripped down all detail, so it’s just the black and the gray. The black is almost a profile or a silhouette,” said Stohlberg.

There is plenty to explore in these houses — some may bring to mind the feeling of a close neighborhood, perhaps a remembered house on a hill, or being in balance or not quite. 

Collage #1; black and gray pastel paper. Courtesy Axel Stohlberg

Working on the collages led Stohlberg to the sculptures in the exhibition. “I felt like the house shape that I was using in the 2D work, that some of it should be in 3D. It seemed like a natural progression,” he said.

The house shapes in the sculptures, cut from wood, also have the recognizable sloped roof on a square or rectangular base. Painted in gesso, most also are flat black. 

In “East, West, North, South,” four are attached, their ridgelines at right angles. In “Good Fit,” two pieces, one painted black, the other raw wood, stack neatly together in lovely proportion.

Among Stohlberg’s personal house associations are his childhood home, where he and his brother grew up. Even after his mother moved out many years later and it was sold, the brothers kept ties to it — going back, checking in to see who owned it and how it fared — talking about its past and present together. Stohlberg’s brother died recently. This exhibition is dedicated to him — Charles Everitt Stohlberg.

The Vermont Supreme Court Gallery presents “House – Collage and Sculpture by artist Axel Stohlberg,” through Dec. 30, at 111 State St. in Montpelier. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Information: 802-279-5558 or online at curator.vermont.gov.

Mary Gow (mgow@gmavt.net) is an arts correspondent for the Times Argus. This review was originally published in the Times Argus on Nov. 10, 2022.