Reykjavík Grapevine - 24.05.2019, Blaðsíða 36

A Bit Careless And
Not Too Sensible
Árni Már Erlingsson's art philosophy
Árni Már Erlingsson has been a driv-
ing force behind presenting new art-
ist in Reykjavík and giving them a
venue in which to exhibit. He is also
a talented artist in his own right, who
has been receiving a lot of well-earned
attention for his work. He runs the fan-
tastic Gallery Port on Laugavegur.
Here are some the driving inf luences
that made him the artist he is today.

Graffiti
It's nice to look back and see where
it all got started. When I was start-
ing to be interested in art everything
around me was covered in hip hop.
So my first influences came from
graffiti. I started running around
late at night scribbling some crappy
tags and throw ups around town.
A friend of mine was often in Den-
mark and when he came back he al-
ways brought some fresh posters from
the Danish graffiti crew Toys. So that
was my introduction to the scene.
Real influences
But artists like Blek le Rat, Basquiat
and Keith Haring were real influ-
ences when I started doing exhibi-
tions and murals and stuff like that.
I remember my style was quite dif-
ferent to what people in Iceland were
used to and it took some time for me
to be accepted into the scene here.
But later on when I started my studies
I fell immediately for Icelandic artists
like Birgir Andrésson, Hreinn Frið-
finnsson and Sigurður Guðmunds-
son. I can't say that they influenced my
works like Basquiat and Keith Haring
did, except maybe Birgir Andrésson.
Snorri Ásmundsson helped
During my studies at the School of Pho-
tography I learned that being produc-
tive opened up a lot of opportunities for
me. I have never been the best student,
but there I figured out that being will-
ing to work a lot I would get interesting
projects and exhibitions. I'm not saying
that's the right way around, it's more
the way I went. I worked some time
for older artists and I helped out with a
project Snorri Ásmundsson was doing
and things like that taught me a lot.
Working with talented people
I have been extremely lucky getting
the opportunity to work with a lot of
talented people and that has made it
possible for me to do things I would
have never accomplished alone. With
a group of young artists, we made
an art festival which later grew to
Leipzig, Berlin and later on to Am-
sterdam. I think we worked with
around 3-400 artists and musicians
from all around the globe. We did ex-
hibitions in several cities in Europe
and later on me and Dóra Hrund Gís-
ladóttir opened up a studio in Berlin.
Gallery Port
After all this I moved back to Iceland
and today I live and work here. When I
got back, a friend of mine called and of-
fered me a space during the summer of
2016 in the middle of Laugavegur. The
plan was simple, do a lot of exhibitions,
concerts and parties over the course
of one summer. Accidentally, we grew
into being an artist-run space. Then
we opened up a shared studio space
where we have six artists. Now, three
years later, we have Gallery Port, an
exhibition space and an edition gallery
in collaboration with Mál og Menning.
Careless, not too sensible
I think it helps me to be a bit careless
and not too sensible, that way I never
think of what really could go wrong
and I always tend to think that when
things go wrong I will figure out a
way to sort that out. And, of course,
throughout the years I have learned
to be more responsible and learn
from all of the things I have done.
36The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 08— 2019Making Of An Artist
Whiskey Cocktails, Whiskey Fligths, Whiskey Shots, Whiskey School, Happy
Hour, Draft Beer & Exterior Patio
Words:
Valur
Grettisson
& Árni Már
Erlingsson
Photo:
Art Bicnick
Árni Már Erlingsson at the opening of his show at Listamenn
Basquiat Birgir Andrésson