Åke Arenhill

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Åke Rudolf William Arenhill was born on October 14, 1920, in Malmö, Sweden, and died on November 28, 2018, in the same city, living to the remarkable age of 98. His father was a goldsmith, and Arenhill trained at Skånska målarskolan, where he developed his broad, darkly toned figurative style in oil and tempera. His subjects ranged from portraits and street scenes to coastal landscapes from the West Coast and Skåne.

Arenhill led a richly multidisciplinary creative life. During the 1950s he worked as an advertising professional at the Malmö bureau of the Swedish Telegraph Agency before moving into retail, becoming director of the prominent Malmö fashion house Ohlssons Beklädnad. Alongside these roles he maintained an active presence in the performing arts, directing the play Apollo from Belac and designing sets for Bertolt Brecht's The Threepenny Opera at Lilla Teatern in Lund. He also produced promotional posters for Teater 23 in Malmö, founded by Per Åhlin and Lennart Bratt in 1959, and directed the short film Besöket in 1967.

In the ceramics world, Arenhill gained recognition through his collaboration with Höganäs Keramik in the 1970s, designing a series of hand-crafted stoneware decorative wall plates. Each plate in the series depicted a celebrated figure from world literature or mythology, including Aphrodite, Anna Karenina, Carmen, Don Juan, Faust and Margareta, Lady of the Camellias, and Leda and the Swan. The plates were produced in characteristic blue-green tones and became sought-after collectibles. His work is held in the collections of the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm.

In November 2018, just weeks before his death, the exhibition Rörelse opened at Galleri Final in Malmö, presenting his works alongside photographs by his daughter Emma Arenhill. At auction, Arenhill's works circulate primarily in regional Swedish sales, with ceramics and drawings appearing regularly at houses including Garpenhus and Helsingborgs Auktionsverk. Prices are modest, typically in the range of a few hundred to a few thousand SEK, reflecting his standing as a well-regarded regional figure rather than a major market name.