Carl Richard Söderström | Birds of Yore

Carl Richard Söderström works primarily with ceramic sculpture. In his artistic practice, craftmanship is central both to the process and to the finished object. He navigates between absolute control and sudden impulses as he challenges and experiments with the material.

His sculptures are intricate and built up in multiple layers. The clay is shaped into a web of lines, making the surface resemble a three-dimensional drawing. The works are painted with thick glazes and pigments and fired repeatedly at different temperatures, where each firing involves an element of risk but also brings out nuances that would otherwise be difficult to create. Produces tonal variations that would otherwise be difficult to achieve.

In his third solo exhibition at Berg Gallery, Söderström enters a more figurative realm than in previous exhibitions. The gallery space is filled with birds, fragments of nature, and organic forms that, in Söderström’s hands, are transformed into mythical beings. The exhibition title refers to Edgar Allan Poe’s poem ”The Raven” (1845), in which the raven becomes a symbol of transience, loss, grief, and the persistent presence of the past. In the poem, Poe describes the disorientation and sorrow following the loss of his beloved Lenore, while the narrator gradually descends into madness.

Ideas about the bird as a link between the spirit world and earthly life have appeared throughout history and across cultures. In these contexts, the bird has served as a symbol of the free spirit and a spiritual messenger through visions and omens. Even today, there are accounts of birds appearing as messengers after the death of a loved one.

Carl Richard Söderström (b. 1960) is based in Stockholm and holds an MFA in Ceramics and Glass from Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm. His works are represented in several important international collections and institutions such as Musée National du Céramique de Sèvres, Paris; Röhsska Museet, Gothenburg; and Nationalmuseum, Stockholm. Previous solo exhibitions include Peach Corner, Copenhagen (2022), Galerie NeC, Paris (2023, 2018, 2012), and Berg Gallery, Stockholm (2022, 2018), and group exhibitions include Fondazione Officine Saffi, Milan (2024), Saatchi Gallery, London (2017, 2011, 2010), and Moderna Museet, Stockholm (1990). In 2024, Söderström was shortlisted for the prestigious Officine Saffi Award.