Stockholm’s art power players came out to CFHILL’s new space to gaze upon ‘Gazing Bodies’

Yesterday evening marked the opening of CFHILL’s impressive new space at Armémuseum, a long-buzzed about 300 square metre pavilion with soaring vaulted ceilings in a building that dates back to the late 1800s. It’s the sort of space that demands a “go big” mentality for its debut exhibition and CFHILL did not disappoint with Gazing Bodies, a group show of 22 artists confronting the notion of the so-called gaze and personal agency.

Curated by CFHILL’s Caroline Wieckhorst in collaboration with writer Lo Hallén, the show brings together some of our region’s most renowned and buzzy artists (not to mention a handful of Vogue Scandinavia alumni) – Karin Mamma Andersson, Cajsa von Zeipel, Arvida Byström, Sixten Sandra Österberg, to name a few – as well as a handful of international artists like Sarah Lucas and Paloma Varga Weisz. “Of course we wanted to open with a big bang!” says CFHILL co-founder and executive chair Michael Storåkers, Co-founder and Executive Chairman CFHILL.

Related: “I take pictures of everything I eat”: Swedish artist Lisa Larsson’s food and drink-heavy paintings are absolutely delicious

But kicking things off with Gazing Bodies is about more than just flexing which artists CFHILL has on speed dial. “Gazing Bodies is ultimately about how we interact with art,” says Storåkers. “It is curated to highlight the agency of the artworks, to let them gaze back at us. The sense is heightened by a bodily quality in all the works in the exhibition. It’s not a new thing – Mona Lisa was painted 500 years ago, but it is affecting and looking back at thousands of people every day. The show is sculpture-heavy, and sculptures are the ultimate gazers!”

CFHILL isn’t the only major player to make the move to Östermalm – its joined by Nordenhake and Andréhn-Schiptjenko. Meanwhile, Public Service and Saskia Neuman Gallery are just around the corner. Stockholm’s very own Chelsea is quickly emerging, or as Storåkers puts it, “the new spot for galleries”.

Related: How this Stockholm-based ceramicist found her pieces on the table in ‘The Bear’

Unsurprisingly, the opening itself brought out a who’s who of the Swedish arts scene and beyond. In addition to a handful of the artists whose work was on view – Ekman, Byström, and Mamma Andersson among them – friends of the gallery like actor Frida Gustavsson and OBAYTAY founder Pontus Frankenstein also came to take in the show, mingle and sip on complimentary Absolut cocktails. The crowd spilled out of the gallery space into the courtyard, where guests enjoyed the unusually balmy September weather.

Following the vernissage, a smaller group headed around the corner to Beirut Cafe (where they were greeted by artist Daniel Jouseff, who owns the joint) to gab and nosh on a Lebanese feast. “The art parties are always the best,” says Storåkers. “They bring together people from different social circles, forcing them out of their usual environments. A 70-year-old billionaire drinking beer with an assistant curator from Tokyo and a surfer from Biarritz – that’s our usual vibe!” No surprise the festivities carried on well into the evening.

For Storåkers, to call the evening – and the exhibition – a success would be an understatement. “To me, this is our best show ever,” he says. “If I could, I would put my bed in the exhibition hall between the three huge bronze sculptures by Paloma Varga Weisz – they make me so happy. I’d let them gaze at me forever. I hope all visitors will feel the same, like they want to move in.”