The Art Reporter
In a city built on spectacle, Carl Larsson operates differently.
For the past decade, the Swedish art advisor has worked quietly in Los Angeles – building collections, navigating galleries, and focusing on long-term relationships in a market often driven by hype. It’s a measured, Scandinavian presence in an otherwise high-volume art world.
Text by Marcus Dunberg
If you walk into Chateau Marmont
Or the restaurant at the Sunset Tower Hotel on any given weekday around lunchtime – which, in health- and sleep-obsessed Los Angeles, tends to be early– chances are you’ll spot a Swede who, despite the beard and shoulder-length hair, manages to look improbably clean-cut. Put together. Wholesome, in that distinctly Scandinavian way.
Carl Larsson’s appearance mirrors his temperament: soft-spoken, articulate, measured. There’s none of the aggressive deal-making theatrics so often associated with high-end art dealing. And yet, his approach seems to work. Ten years after moving from Stockholm to Los Angeles, he’s not only stayed–he’s built a quiet foothold in one of the art world’s most competitive and opaque arenas.
Art dealing was less a career choice than a birthright. Both his father and grandfather were in the business, and Larsson made his first deals at sixteen. As a young dealer, he looked to figures like Leo Castelli–the godfather of modern galleries–as a model. Castelli’s oft-quoted line,“Europe has a great deal of art. America has a great deal of money,”neatly captures the transatlantic dynamic Larsson would later step into himself.
He speaks warmly about his upbringing, but provincial Sweden isn’t exactly a launchpad for global art ambitions. Stockholm was the natural next step, followed by Bukowski’s, the storied auction house that has trained generations of Swedes with dreams of making it in the world of art and antiques.
So what exactly does Carl Larsson do?
“I acquire works for clients and help collectors build their collections. That includes both the primary market – through galleries and art fairs – and the secondary market. My role is advisory, access, and finding the right works. Sometimes it’s simply about opening doors.”
His move to Los Angeles happened, as many things here do, through a combination of chance and proximity. Tim Bergling – better known as Avicii – had purchased a house in LA and needed help starting a collection. Larsson flew over on short notice. One trip became several. Gradually, Los Angeles became home.
“When I first moved here, LA was barely an art city. Now almost every major gallery has opened here. The collector culture is younger and more creative than in New York. There, many collectors work in finance – stronger buying power, more systematic in some ways. Here, there are more artists. The lifestyle is also gentler. People eat better, drink less.”
The difference between the two cities extends to the dress code.“In LA, style is relaxed but considered. A full suit doesn’t really work. A blazer and T-shirt makes more sense. The look is effortless. A lot of women wear activewear as everyday clothing.”
A decade in, Larsson is settled.
He and his wife, Valerie – currently on maternity leave but for the past five years instrumental in managing the logistical and practical side of the business – live in the Hollywood Hills with their two young children. Mornings begin at home over breakfast before Larsson takes their son to school and walks down to Sunset Boulevard, where his office is located. Weekends are spent in Malibu or at the family’s treehouse in Laurel Canyon.
Life, by most measures, is good.
But the market has tested even seasoned players.
“The past two years have been tough. There was extreme hype. Too much faith in very young contemporary art. Prices spiraled. Now we’re seeing a stabilization,a return to something more sensible.”
Art dealing was less a career choice than a birthright.
Both his father and grandfather were in the business, and Larsson made his first deals at sixteen. As a young dealer, he looked to figures like Leo Castelli–the godfather of modern galleries–as a model. Castelli’s oft-quoted line,“Europe has a great deal of art. America has a great deal of money”, neatly captures the transatlantic dynamic Larsson would later step into himself.
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