Yrjö Edelmann (1941–2016)
Illusion or reality? Yrjö Edelmann is our time’s master of the ”trompe l’oeil” painting. ”I just want them to feel like: What! Is it painted!" he said - and he succeeded indeed. Wherever his paintings are exposed he fools the eye of the spectator.

Born in Helsinki, Finland in 1941 Yrjö Edelmann moved with his family to Sweden in 1950. After military service he worked as an illustrator, however the painting took over and in 1973 he had his first exhibition with photo-realistic and surrealistic paintings.

Yrjö Edelmann devoted himself to oil painting and graphic art. In 1976 he discovered his talent to paint paper. His works caught the eye of both public and critics, not only in Sweden, but abroad as well. The very same year he went to New York looking for a gallery to represent him. ”I went from gallery to gallery with a roll of paintings under my arm. Everyone was politely uninterested.” Finally a young gallery owner by namne Lilian Heidenberg recognizes his talent and shows his paintings at an art show in Washington. This was the beginning of a long successful career and since then his works have been on display continuously in the USA. Subsequently he found his theme and started to paint parcels wrapped in different kinds of wrecked paper, fastened with string or tape. This motif gives the artwork a third dimension since it leaves the viewer to imagine the content of the parcel, even though the mysterious creative title gives us a hint. As the story goes, a Texas art collector borrowed a painting by Edelmann as he considered whether to purchase it. He was a bit uncertain, so he invited his friends home and asked what they thought about the new artwork. His friends looked confused and said, "What artwork? Remove the paper cover first so we can see it!” Their reaction convinced the Texan, who immediately bought the painting.

Edelmann took the illusionary effect one step further as he adapted the stretcher to the motif instead of adapting the motif to the canvas, thus he strengthened the perspective.

Art lovers and art collectors worldwide have been fascinated by Yrjö Edelmann’s work and he gained recognition for his skill and innovative vision as his work was exhibited internationally in venues across Europe, the United States, Japan and China. Today his paintings can be found in notable museum collections, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Malmö Museum.