Karl Momen, the creator of the “Tree of Utah” sculpture on I-80 highway near Wendover, was diagnosed with a virulent form of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and admitted to hospital in Sweden just days before the opening of an important retrospective exhibition of his work at the Royal Academy of Arts in Stockholm on August 26, 2009. Although Mr. Momen was unable to attend the opening of the exhibition, the recognition by the Royal Academy is a significant honor for this prolific painter and sculptor who has strong Utah ties through the 87 ft high structure he created in the Great Western Desert. The exhibition was attended by numerous celebrities including Anna Greta Leijon the former Swedish Minister of Labor who was also present in Utah at the dedication of Momen’s Tree of Utah in 1986.
The 75 year old Momen has distinguished himself over his 40 year career as an international artist of repute with a resilient and idiosyncratic vision.
This is the first time that such a comprehensive body of Momen’s works has been shown in one venue. The exhibition includes works on loan from public and private collections as far afield as the Nordic Heritage Museum in the United States, to private collections in Europe and the Middle East. Momen has exhibited widely in museums and galleries around the world, and was thrice selected to be shown at the Biennale de Sculpture de Monte Carlo.
Momen received his training at the Stuttgart Art Academy where he worked with Max Ernst and served an internship with Le Corbusier before relocating to Sweden, becoming a citizen in the early 1960s. Karl Momen’s work is rooted in the visual language of formalism, the aesthetic movement that dominated modernism after World War II. The retrospective exhibition continues at the Royal Academy until October 4, 2009.
For more information contact: Herman du Toit, BYU Museum of Art (801) 636-2103 – cell.
UTAH’S ART MAGAZINE SINCE 2001, 15 Bytes is published by Artists of Utah, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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