2col Love Corporation Nest.jpg
2col Love Corporation Nest.jpg
Icelandic Love Corporation, âHreiður (Nest),â 2004, mixed media sculpture installation, courtesy National Gallery of Iceland.
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SCANDINAVIA HOUSE CONTEMPORARY ICELANDIC ART w/1 cut
/gs set 4/30 #737869
NEW YORK CITY â âFrom Another Shore: Recent Icelandic Art,â a survey of contemporary Icelandic art from the National Gallery of Iceland, is on view at Scandinavia House through August 15. The exhibit includes sculpture, installation, painting, photography and videos by 21 of Icelandâs most acclaimed artists: Pordis Aoalsteinsdottir, Olga Bergmann, Hildur Bjarnadottir, Eirun Siguroardotti), Jon Oskar, Magnus Siguroarson, and Hulda Stefansdottir.
âThe American Scandinavian Foundation is enormously pleased to present this exhibition at Scandinavia House,â say Edward P. Gallagher, president of the ASF. ââFrom Another Shore: Recent Icelandic Artâ is an outstanding addition to the foundationâs long history of presenting contemporary Scandinavian art in this country.â
Icelandic artists are to a large extent influenced by the harsh volcanic and glacial landscape of their sparsely populated island nation. While many of the artists in the exhibition live in New York or have studied in the United States, their work is very different than that of other New York-based artists.
âAmong the most apparent differences is the attitude of Icelandic artists to nature, which is the basis of their art whether it is conspicuous or not,â says Halldor Bjorn Runolfsson, director of the National Gallery of Iceland and curator of the exhibition. âModern Icelandic art is rooted in landscape, but it has little to do with the classical European tradition with its idyllic atmosphere and picturesque order.â
No strangers to the international art scene, the artists in âFrom Another Shore: Recent Icelandic Artâ draw vitality and creativity from the contrast between the sublime emptiness of the Icelandic landscape and the bustling energy of cosmopolitan cities like New York.
Scandinavia House is at 58 Park Avenue. For information, 212-879-9779 or www.scandinaviahouse.org.