Birth of a style
Occupied late, Iceland first adopted the pictorial codes of the Norwegian settlers. Until the union with Norway in 1254, the island maintained regular commercial relations with Europe, and thus discovered the English, French and German currents. However, foreign trade was hindered by the dominant powers, Norway and Denmark. Epidemics and natural disasters soon led to a sharp decline in population. In the 18th century, the pictorial traditions were almost lost. The revival came from poets and intellectuals, who were the bearers of an emerging sense of belonging. In the 19th century, art associated national feeling with nature.
Icelandic painting
In painting, the expression of the strong link between man and nature was pioneered by Johannes Kjarval (1885-1972). A major artist, he was the first Icelandic painter to acquire international fame. Of modest origin, he became a fisherman but he loved to draw. Thanks to the material support of the island's fishermen, he studied at the Fine Arts School in Denmark. It was in Copenhagen that he discovered the innovative movements that would mark out his career. Revered during his lifetime, he remains a legend in Iceland. His mystical vision of nature is one of the most appreciated aspects of his work. The notion of a living nature was to be the guiding principle of his prolific career. His works are grouped together at Kjarvalsstaðir in Reykjavik, which overlooks Klambratún Park. On the island, many museums are individual: Gunnlaugur Scheving, Svavar Guðnason, Nína Tryggvadóttir, Helgi Þorgils Friðjónsson, Þórarinn B. Þorláksson, Ásgrímur Jónsson...
Naturalism dominated Icelandic painting until the 1930s. At that time, a moderate expressionism began to emerge. Landscapes were abandoned by the younger generation, who transcribed social reality, such as the fishing industry and the workers.Abstract art
The 1940s were the years of the abstract painters, led by Svavar Gudnason and Thorvaldur Skulason. In the prosperous post-war period, the first Icelandic artistic movements were formed. Painters and writers developed a taste for travel. But it was the 1960s that were crucial for contemporary Icelandic art. The avant-garde asserts itself under the leadership of Erro, Gunnar Örn Gunnarsson, Einar Hakonarson, Jon Gunnar Arnason, Magnus Palsson and Hreinn Fridfinnsson. The group SUM, under the leadership of Dieter Roth, gave a glimpse of the styles going on abroad. Thereafter, all the western trends will cross Iceland: pop art, conceptual art, land art, performances, then new painting in the 1980s.
Louisa Matthíasdóttir (1917-2000), a leading figure of the Icelandic avant-garde, came to prominence in the late 1930s. Her paintings, painted with broad brushstrokes, favour geometric forms. At the end of her career, she painted Icelandic landscapes as well as a series of self-portraits. Married to an American, she never abandoned the specificity of her native land, which gave a bold luminosity to her paintings.Einar Hákonarson
Born in 1945, Einar Hákonarson is the painter who brought the figure back into Icelandic painting in 1968. Expressionist and figurative, he is a pioneer of the Icelandic art scene. Einar grew up in a family of artists, which was unusual in his time. He executed his first works at a very young age, and was accepted at the National Art School of Iceland at only 15 years old. He continued his training abroad: Sweden, Denmark, Argentina. Although he mainly produces oil paintings, he also practices engraving, sculpture, stained glass, enamels and mosaics to question the place of humans in the environment. In doing so, he has never ceased to work for the defence of Icelandic art
Erró
Another great name in Icelandic painting, Erró was born in 1932. He works between France and Spain. At a very young age, he learnt mosaic in Florence, then took part in numerous exhibitions around the world. His painting is part of the pop art movement, brought in the 1950s by Andy Warhol. A leader of narrative figuration, the French variant of pop art, he is also known as the pioneer of painted collage. It was through contact with the Parisian surrealists that he gave up his style to devote himself to collage. He developed a technique of mass production which consists in painting on an assembly of images taken from comic strips, advertisements, postcards and reproductions of works of art. His recurring subjects include politicians and celebrities, superheroes and warriors. His works emanate a delirious joy with a hint of absurdity.
Sculpture
Women are mainly active in textile arts and sculpture. Júlíana Sveinsdóttir (1889-1966) was an Icelandic painter and textile artist. Living in Denmark, Júlíana Sveinsdóttir returned in the summer to paint Icelandic landscapes. In 2008, her name was given to a crater on the planet Mercury. Not trivial!
Brynhildur Thorgeirsdottir, born 1955, exhibits all over the world. In the public space, we can admire her Landscape in Garðabær or Cliff
Steinunn Thorarinsdottir trained as a sculptor in Italy. For 40 years, she has exhibited in Europe, Australia and Japan. Her anonymous human figures, naked and life-size, climb the wall or keep you company on a bench.
Reykjavík's city centre is alive with modern sculptures. Several museums are dedicated to a single sculptor: the Einar Jónsson Museum (his works are inspired by Icelandic mythology and folklore), the Sigurjón Ólafsson Museum, where his abstract sculptures are exhibited, and the Ásmundur Sveinsson Museum (Ásmundarsafn), which houses 370 sculptures made of wood, plaster, clay, stone, metal and bronze by the pioneer of Icelandic sculpture.Street art
Street art has not always had an easy life in Iceland. Originating from the underground culture, it was initially tolerated. In the 1980's, graffiti were painted in tunnels or in places where people were not allowed. It evolves without disturbing. Until 2006. The mayor of Reykjavik leaves then in war against the street art. Determined to eradicate it, he had all the walls repainted and distributed excessive fines (2,000 euros). But the chased art comes back at a gallop. The situation escalates until a group of defenders negotiates a dedicated space: Hjartagarðurinn, or Heart Park. The only problem was that the space was unhealthy. It is only in 2012 that funds are allocated to its maintenance and that the place blossoms: painting, concerts, skate-park animate the temple of street art. Foreign street-artists come to graffiti: the British The London Police, the Italian Galo and the Berliner Nomad. This project definitely changes the vision of street art in Icelandic culture. From now on, street artists receive public and private orders and the population accepts this practice. Although it remains forbidden. Other events promote street art: Wall Poetry, which brings together all street arts, and Iceland Airwaves, a festival that invites musicians and graffiti artists to collaborate. The walls of the city now relay the magic, the bestiary of the legends that are the soul of Iceland. As the frescoes lining the main street of Laugavegur show, street art here is more poetic than protesting.
Photography
RAX, or Ragnar Axelsson, photographs the country of colours in black and white. And yet, he tells the story of Iceland like no other. We remember his apocalyptic images of the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, in 2010. His portraits are the subject of surrealist settings: a man immersed in the glacial lagoon, close-ups of icebergs that reveal faces, farmers with timeless faces. In another register, Gunnar Freyr makes us discover the Icelandic fauna with humour. Isolated houses, lost sheep show another Iceland
Photographers from elsewhere have chosen Iceland. The Australian Benjamin Hardman has a passion for extreme landscapes. He documents the fauna and flora in the hope of alerting us to the damaging effects of global warming. Originally from Moldova, Iurie Belegurschi arrived in Reykjavik in 2006. In parallel to his activities as a tourist guide, he pursues a career: landscapes, aurora borealis and dreamlike images are published by The Huffington Post and The Telegraph. He exhibits in Hong Kong as well as in Iceland
Nowadays
To take the pulse of today's scene, a stopover at the artist-run NYLO Living Art Museum is a must
Among the Icelandic artists present on the international scene, Sigurdur Arni Sigurdsson (born in 1963) exhibits in several French and Icelandic museums, including the National Museum of Iceland and the City Museum of Reykjavik. Representative of Iceland at the 1999 Venice Biennale, Sigurdur Arni questions space and its abstract dimension in painting and photography.
Olafur Eliasson, born in 1967, works in sculpture, photography, video, installations and painting. For him, art is a fundamental means of transforming reflection into action
Katrin Fridriks, born in 1974, has developed a technique that transcribes the dynamics of her gestures onto the canvas, to capture the very act of painting. When painting becomes a choreographic act
At the Palais de Tokyo, Ragnar Kjartansson (born 1976) is nicknamed "the flamboyant Viking". His work evolves at the crossroads of performance, video, sculpture, painting and music. A rising star, he has been honoured by the Guggenheim in Bilbao and the New Museum in New York. Thanks to him, Icelandic poetry continues to embellish the art scene
