Reykjavík Grapevine - 23.07.2004, Blaðsíða 24

The exhibition space is simple
and serene. Its discrete ambiance
makes it feel like a peculiar haven,
distinctly sans-fashion. But there’s
no getting around it: it’s weird for
me, Joe Art-Enthusiast, to walk
through a zone of thousand-dollar
suits to get there.
I wanted to talk with someone
about the gallery and there was a
door open at one end of the room.
Through it I could see more paint-
ings and photographs. But as I
peeked in, a woman stood up and
closed the door. I asked her if there
was someone I could ask about the
gallery. She handed me a pamphlet
about the artists, and wordlessly
walked away.
I get it, I thought. This is not
just a gallery. It’s an experience
that embodies the inaccessibility
of contemporary art! Art in a posh
clothing shop that feels exclusive and
unavailable…a gallery only for those
who can afford it. Yes, just like much
of contemporary art itself which can
sometimes feel foreign, perplexing
and inexplicable. Or perhaps it was
just that I don’t speak Icelandic.
I tried to keep this analysis
buried as I spoke with the man
himself, Sævar Karl, who was kind
and friendly, not to mention dapper
(who´d have thought?). I tried to
subtly suggest that the upmarket
shop might make some gallery-go-
ers apprehensive, and they might
even be too apprehensive to ask one
of the debonair salespeople where
the gallery is. “Well, if you never
ask questions, you will get nothing,”
Sævar says, smiling. I guess there’s
no arguing with that.
It is clear that he is a sincere art
devotee as he shows me the various
paintings and sculptures throughout
the shop. There are pieces by just
about every well-known Icelandic
artist, fit into every vacant space,
probably quadrupling what would fit
into the actually gallery space. Even
the downstairs offices are packed
with photographs, sculptures and
paintings by Icelandic artists.
The big picture started to become
clear. Sustaining a gallery requires
quite a financial commitment; Sævar
has employed someone full-time
to run the gallery, for starters. And
galleries that don’t have such stable
backing often fail. In fact, since the
gallery opened in 1989, Sævar has
seen most galleries come and go, but
his has been an unwavering presence.
And because of his commitment
and stability, the shop and associated
gallery play a considerable role in the
propagation of Icelandic art and is a
serious asset to local artists.
As much as I mistrust the idea
of a gallery hidden in the no-man’s-
land of a shop that sells Prada, it
really is a seamless marriage. Artists
are in constant need of funding, and
this shop has a stately purpose in
subsidizing their efforts. Although
the shop itself is meant for only
few, the gallery is all-embracing. If
you don’t mind forging through the
aristocratic attire.
SÆVAR KARL´S GALLERY:
THE SUITS WON’T SPOIL IT by Marcie Hume
It was probably obvious to everyone that I wasn’t going to buy any
clothing. At first I thought I was in the wrong place, but I quietly
made my way down to the small basement, feeling like I was sneak-
ing through where I wasn’t supposed to be, and discovered the gal-
lery. The salespeople in their super-cute clothes didn’t really bother to
look into this room, and I felt safe for a moment.
A House of Culture
Parked right in the heart of Reykjavík is a house with the
motto of being “at the heart of a nation”. This majestic
building is none other than the Culture House, situated
at Hverfisgata 15.
It is sometimes claimed that globalization is the big-
gest enemy of culture. If such were the case, I think it
only fair to point out that if we had stubbornly denied
all foreign influence in order to maintain our precious
culture, we would still be living in grass houses, strug-
gling to survive. Still, we should of course be grateful to
museums such as the Culture House for preserving our
cultural heritage and reminding us what it consists of and
how it evolved.
At the moment there are four exhibitions on display.
On the top floor is an overview of how the National
Museum used to be, of its history and role in the nation’s
fight for independence and search for a self image.
Chests carved in wood, spoons, chairs, and a priest’s
robe are among the items on display, along with pictures
of how they were arranged when they were on display
at the National Museum. On the floor below are two
exhibitions. The many faces of the Poetic Edda are on
display in the library room, both the various illustrations
of artists and various publications of the Edda in many
different languages. The other exhibition goes by the
title of Home Rule 1904 and is held in celebration of
the centenary of Home Rule in Iceland. It touches upon
many subjects regarding the nation from roughly 1870
to 1918, to give a more comprehensive insight into the
period of home rule and life at that time.
On the ground floor they’ve got medieval manuscripts,
Eddas and Sagas. A tour guide enriches the experience
of walking through the exhibition by giving an insightful
lecture on the history behind the items on display, every
Friday at 15:30. She can even be persuaded to read aloud
a part of the vellum scripts on display, thus proving that
we can indeed understand the ancient scribbling of our
ancestors. The gem of the exhibition must surely be the
Elder Edda, a small yet meaningful book, containing
the cosmology of Northern beliefs. Without this book it
would have been impossible for archaeologists to make
sense of many of their findings. The exhibition also goes
into the whole process behind the making of vellum
scripts, and of course also into the storytelling that gave
life to the stories in the first place.
The Culture House is an enchanting place with much
to offer, whether you are a boring academic or simply a
curious passer-by.
by Eydís Björnsdóttir
����� ARTS
Klink og Bank
TEMPORARY MADNESS
This is a good way to see the work of many young Ice-
landic artists in a very different exhibition space. After
you spend some time in the big open rooms, you can slink
around the work spaces throughout the building. Eventu-
ally this building will be torn down by the bank who cur-
rently owns it, so it feels kind of like a ghost building, with
all its temporary creations.
CULTUREand
Handverk og hönnun
TO PURCHASE OR TO PERUSE
The gallery defies classification, although it could be
described as somewhere between a very nice shop where
items are displayed on pedestals and a craft museum.
There are some really exceptional and sometimes uncon-
ventional pieces along side the more lackluster ones like
shawls and pink dresses.
Árbæjarsafn
NOT JUST PRETTY COSTUMES
The outdoor museum features houses that represent vari-
ous periods in Iceland’s history. Visitors wander between
the houses and look into them, and speak with the “in-
habitants” of the houses. They wear traditional Icelandic
costumes but the (mostly) girls wearing them are usually
very knowledgeable and have to speak at least two or three
languages in order to work there. So, as one ex-worker
told me, they are not silly models showing off the sexy
wool outfits of times passed.
Saga museum
SILICON HISTORY
If real people don’t suit you as much as, say, silicon figures,
head up to Perlan (or “The Pearl”, the shining grey dome
on a hill). The museum “intimately recreates key moments
in Icelandic history, moments that determined the fate of
our people and which give a compelling view into how
Icelanders have lived and thought for more than a millen-
nium.” See, even the website sounds like a saga.
Gallery i8
THEY KEEP THE SHADES UP
FOR YOU
The general consensus has not yet been reached on this
gallery, but for now it comes tentatively recommended. It
currently features works by Jeanine Cohen of Brussels. If
worse comes to worse, you can do a drive by and see pretty
much everything. The gallery’s opening hours are a bit
obscure, but usually they leave the shades up and you can
get the gist.
Einar Jónsson Museum
PERMANENT SHOW
This permanent show of the country´s groundbreaking
sculptor whose influence on all visual arts has been con-
siderable. A comprehensive exhibition in a fine building.
H
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