Biography

Ulf Lennart Wahlberg was born on 31 August 1938 in Stockholm. His father, Martin Wahlberg, was a skilled pastry chef. His mother, Birgit Wahlberg (prev. Lagerkrantz), stayed at home taking care of the four kids.

After completing his commercial diploma in 1955, Ulf Wahlberg worked as a clerk until 1960. He worked in the accounting department at Vattenfall’s headquarters (Stockholm) from 1955 to 1960. Two evenings a week, he studied drawing and painting at "Stockholms Konstskola" under the instruction of Allan Dollmén. During the same period, between 1959 and 1964, he made several study trips to Italy, Spain, and France—trips that would shape his early artistic career.

In 1961 Ulf Wahlberg began his studies at Konstakademien in Stockholm, where he remained until 1966. He studied under Evert Lundquist, Bror Marklund, Carl Fredrick Reuterswärd and Karl Axel Pehrson.

In 1965–1966, Ulf Wahlberg received the Jenny Lind travel scholarship as well as a grant from the Helge Ax:son Johnson Foundation, which funded an extended study trip to the United States. He spent three months traveling around the United States on Continental Trailways buses. That same year, he held a solo exhibition at Galleri Observatorium in Stockholm and exhibited alongside Ian Hellström, Lars Hellström, and Lars Hillersberg, among others, at Galleri Surbrunn. He also took part in the Nationalmuseum's exhibition Unga tecknare (Young Draughtsmen) and in the biennial at the Louisiana Museum in Humlebæk.

This year Ulf got married to Monica Steen.

Ulf Wahlberg took part in Salon de la jeune peinture at the Moderna Museet in Paris and in the Nordic Youth Biennial at Louisiana in Denmark. He made his second trip to America, this time by Greyhound bus from New York via Mexico City to Los Angeles. He lived in Los Angeles for five months together with John-E Franzén.

Ulf Wahlberg took part in an international exhibition at the Hotel Hilton in New York.

His son Jonas was born on 23 January.

Ulf Wahlberg held a solo exhibition at Galleri Hedenius in Stockholm. Pontus Hultén bought the painting Pomona Dragstrip for the Moderna Museet in Stockholm.

Ulf Wahlberg was named the year's prize winner in the Nationalmuseum's exhibition Unga Tecknare (Young Draughtsmen). He exhibited together with John-E Franzén at Café Mejan in Stockholm, and the Moderna Museet bought the painting I Öknen (In the Desert). He received the State's major working grant for 1970–71, which he used to build his studio in Älvsjö.

Ulf Wahlberg represented Sweden, together with Petter Pettersson, at the Biennale de Paris.

Ulf Wahlberg took part, together with Lars Gösta Lundberg, in Riksutställningar's touring exhibition Tidsbilder (Images of the Times) in Sweden and Finland.

Ulf Wahlberg took part in Swedish Art in Japan and in the Salon comparaisons in Paris. The French state bought the painting Bilar, New Mexico (Cars, New Mexico).

Ulf Wahlberg held a solo exhibition at Konstakademien in Stockholm.

Ulf Wahlberg created a public artwork for the Police Headquarters in Stockholm.

Ulf Wahlberg bought the old Vassbacken schoolhouse by the Göta Canal in Västergötland.

Ulf Wahlberg took part in the exhibition Hur blir det med Blasieholmsleden? (What Will Happen to Blasieholmsleden?) at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, with the painting and poster Parkeringshuset (The Parking Garage) and the painting Drive-in-museet (The Drive-in Museum).

Between 1976 and 1994, Ulf Wahlberg spent his summers at Vassbacken, where his interest in landscape and still-life painting was reawakened.

Ulf Wahlberg held a solo exhibition at the Swedish Institute in Paris and lived for two months at the Centre Culturel Suédois in Paris.

The book Skrotbilar (Scrap Cars) was published by Svenska Budskaps förlag in Jönköping.

Ulf Wahlberg was invited to take part in the exhibition Självporträtt (Self-Portraits) at the Uffizi in Florence.

Ulf Wahlberg held a solo exhibition at Konstnärshuset in Stockholm and took part in Svensk Konst (Swedish Art) in Moscow and Vologda. He created a public artwork for the cafeteria at Nacka Hospital and lived and worked for two months at the Cité des Arts in Paris.

Ulf Wahlberg created a public artwork for Maria Polyclinic in Stockholm.

Ulf Wahlberg exhibited at Bergens Kunstforening in Bergen and created public artworks for Igelsta vårdskola (nursing school) in Södertälje and the Lidingö police station.

The book Teckningar och skisser 1953–1986 (Drawings and Sketches 1953–1986) was published under his own imprint.

Ulf Wahlberg held another solo exhibition at Konstakademien in Stockholm.

Between 1989 and 1994, Ulf Wahlberg was professor of painting at the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts.

Ulf Wahlberg created a public artwork for Skärholmen metro station.

The composer Jan Sandström wrote Wahlberg Variations, a five-movement work for cello and wind quintet dedicated to Ulf Wahlberg. It premiered at the Jönköping Concert Hall on 13 April 1991, with Frans Helmerson as soloist.

Folke Edwards's book on Ulf Wahlberg, Målningar, teckningar, skisser, objekt, foto 1955–1994 (Paintings, Drawings, Sketches, Objects, Photographs 1955–1994), was published. That same year, Wahlberg Variations II was performed by the saxophone quartet Rollin' Phones at Fylkingen in Stockholm on 3 November.

Wahlberg Variations III, for solo trombone and ensemble, was performed by the Nash Ensemble in London on 12 March 1996 with Christian Lindberg as soloist. That same year, Ulf Wahlberg was Konstnärsklubben's scholarship holder in Gréz-sur-Loing, France.

Ulf Wahlberg created a public artwork for the entrance hall at Örnsköldsvik Hospital. He appeared in several programmes for Swedish Radio and Television, including Måla landskap (Painting Landscapes), En bil, en bild, ett minne (A Car, a Picture, a Memory), Maten i konsten (Food in Art), Bilen i konsten (The Car in Art), and Om skönhet (On Beauty).

The saxophone quartet Rollin' Phones performed a concert with image projections at Södertälje Konsthall on 9 December: Wahlberg Variations by Jan Sandström and Wahlberg Landscape by Mats Larsson Gothe.

Ulf Wahlberg created a new public artwork for the new entrance at Skärholmen metro station. He also received the State's major working grant for 2004–2005.

Ulf Wahlberg photographed in 2005, in front of one of the realist car paintings from his later career.

The major retrospective exhibition Ett konstnärskap (An Artistic Career) was shown at Waldemarsudde.

Ulf Wahlberg died on 26 January 2014 in the Brännkyrka parish. He is buried in the memorial grove at Brännkyrka cemetery.

Wahlberg became known for his new-realist paintings of cars and people, while also producing a substantial body of abstract work in parallel. He completed public commissions, including work for Toleredsskolan in Gothenburg and the Skärholmen metro station in Stockholm, and is represented today in the collections of several Swedish museums, among them the Nationalmuseum, Moderna Museet, and the Gothenburg Museum of Art.