When the Department of Physiology at Lund University moved into its new premises on Sölvegatan in Lund in the mid-1950s, Arne Jones' sculpture Vertical Composition was purchased as public decoration. The sculpture came to campus after a close collaboration between the department building's architect Klas Anshelm and Professor of Physiology Georg Kahlson.
In 1980, the sculpture was damaged for the first time in a storm. When the artist Jones had died a few years earlier, the artist Thure Thörn was asked to repair the sculpture, which was made of copper. The work then stood stately on campus for many years, but after it was vandalized and yet another heavy storm, Akademiska Hus had to take down the sculpture in 2011 for safety reasons.
Recreated in new material after good collaboration
The sculpture was then in Akademiska Hus storage for many years and was considered too damaged to be put up again. But after a close collaboration between Lund University, Public Art Agency Sweden and Akademiska Hus, a recreated version of the work now stands outside the newly built Forum Medicum – the extension of the Biomedical Centre (BMC) that has been completed since May 2023. This time it is the artists Viggo Wichmann and Marc Rizell who have created a new version of the work in stainless steel.
On Public Art Agency Sweden's website, you can read more about how the process worked.
Lena Åberg
Projektchef