Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.10.2016, Side 46

Art Painting46The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 16 — 2016
Since his graduation from Valand
School of Fine Arts in Sweden, Ice-
landic painter Úlfur Karlsson has
been busy with exhibitions and
film projects including the ongo-
ing exhibition “By Proxy” in Galer-
ie Ernst Hilger in Vienna, and “We
Are Not Afraid” in the Reykjavík
Art Museum. He is political in his
works and says art pieces should
be remembered in people’s hearts
long after they’ve seen them, like
a good film.

What is your creative process?
Sometimes when I don’t feel like
creating anything, I find it very
hard to work. I even need to force
myself to work in order to keep
track sometimes and those peri-
ods can be tough. I have a very cre-
ative mind though, I dream weird
dreams and sometimes I feel like
I have thoughts that no one else
has. In my opinion being creative
means painting the things around
you that you see something spe-
cial in. Sometimes I feel more cre-
ative when I have been away from
painting for awhile, like now for
example, I have been in Germany
and Austria for almost a month
and haven’t been able to paint. I
miss the feeling a lot.

What inspires you?
American culture, sports and poli-
tics are what inspire me most. I
think Icelanders are a very Ameri-
canized nation, and I am a perfect
example. I grew up watching ‘The
Simpsons’, collected NBA cards
and watched all Chicago Bulls
games. As I got older I became in-
terested in other things and there-
fore started following sports less,
but Muhamed Ali has kept on as
one of my biggest inspirations.

What is your favorite work by you
or by other artists?
At the moment, I would have to say
Erró. I have seen his work from a
close distance and I can honestly
say that he has mastered his amaz-
ing style. Ragnar Kjartansson is
also a huge inspiration to me, his
recent work in New York is prob-
ably my favorite artwork by an
Icelandic artist. My favorite inter-
national artist however, is Jean-
Michel Basquiat.
It’s a bit easier for me to pick
which one of my own works is
my favorite, because there is only
one painting I feel fits the en-
tire galaxy of my brain, the main
painting of my newest show, “By
Proxy,” in Vienna.

How is being an artist in Iceland?
The art scene in Iceland is very
small, which is why most artists
try to work outside of Iceland as
well. Despite that, we have some
of the world's most famous art-
ists like Ragnar Kjartansson and
Ólafur Elíasson as well as great
musicians like Björk and Sigur rós.
However, there are many people
in Iceland that don't seem to like
us artists, and want the fund-
ing towards artists to be taken
away. I'm not sure how to answer
this question but I like being in
Iceland, mostly because I prefer
cold weather and like going to the
swimming pools.

Future Plans?
That’s an easy question, become
rich, famous, and respected.
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Artist Talk with
Úlfur Karlsson
Words & Photo HREFNA BJÖRG GYLFADÓTTIR
I C E L A N D I C R E S T A U R A N T & B A R
Tasty tapas and dr inks by the o ld harbour
T a b l e r e s e r v a t i o n s : + 3 5 4 5 1 7 1 8 0 0 - w w w . f o r r e t t a b a r i n n . i s
Certificate of Excellence
———— 2016 ————
EMERGING
“Awesome experience”