Reykjavík Grapevine - jún. 2020, Blaðsíða 26

Matte Musin"s In
Mosfellsbær
Ásger#ur Arnardóttir fills us in on her latest
artistic exhibition
Words: Nico Borbely Photos: Art Bicnick
Info
‘Út frá einu og yfir í anna#’ is
open until June 26th at Bókasafn
Mosfellsbæjar.
In the back of the Mosfellsbær li-
brary, a brightly lit hall hosts ‘Út frá
einu og yfir í anna!,’ an exhibition
of sleek, creamy-coloured imag-
es with smooth edges, centering
brighter photographic elements
whose more vibrant colours and
tangible textures contrast with
their backgrounds, masterminded
by up and coming artist Ásger!ur
Arnardóttir. “I like trying to create
an illusion, [so that] people don’t
know what the medium is when
they look at the works,” she says as
we sit facing each other beside one
of the overlaid images in question.
Dimensional dialogue
“This exhibition is mainly about
different kinds of perspectives,”
Ásger!ur, who goes by Ása, ex-
plains. “There are three sculp-
tures in the middle and all of the
2D works on the walls are different
implementations of the sculptures,
such as drawings, photos and a col-
lage.”
Walking through the hall, the
swathes of matte alabaster and
rosey colors in the backgrounds of
the pieces hanging on the walls are
soothing and easy on the eyes. The
photographed elements punctuate
these otherwise unbroken back-
grounds with small, but strong
centerpieces of texture and warm
colors. The overall impression is
one of ease, serenity and quiet in-
trospection.
But underneath that serenity,
Ása emphasises, is a sense of con-
flict; one that seeks to pit the ab-
stract against the objective. “When
I repeat works like those on the
walls, they become more objective.
At the beginning of
the process, I want-
ed to have three-di-
mensional works
in dialogue with
two-dimensional
works, and high-
light the tension
between them,” she
says. “The sculp-
tures [which the
pieces are based on]
need to be here, or else the exhibi-
tion would be totally different.””
Combining crafts
Ása’s method is one of mixed-me-
dium experimentation. “I take a
picture of an object that catches my
eye and I cut out the background
and replace it with a single color,
which changes the whole image.
When I graduated, I made pieces
that were like this. [One time], I
photographed a painting I crum-
pled up, and people thought it was
a painting, though it was a photo-
graph of a painting, because the
textures of these prints are very
matte,” she explains. “I find com-
bining mediums very exciting. I
usually take photographs and make
digital works out of them, but I’ve
never had the objects with them in
the exhibition before, which forc-
es the viewer to experience it in
a certain way. It’s not as open to
interpretation as it is usually.”
When asked if there are any spe-
cific artistic styles
or master pieces
that have inspired
or influenced her
work, Ása paus-
es for a moment,
thinking intent-
ly. “It’s a mixture
of many artists in
my head, which I
don’t necessarily
remember now. I
don’t really know where I get my
inspiration; it’s just the details of
the things around me. I’m inspired
by a good mix of textures, colours,
forms and composition in a unique
way. I just want to feel something
new that I haven’t experienced be-
fore,” she concludes. “I don’t like
when I know what I’m doing.”
Find today's events
in Iceland!
Download our free
listings app - APPENING
on the Apple and
Android storesArt
“I just want
to feel some-
thing new that I
haven’t experi-
enced before.”
Ása's smile lights up 2020
Ása (right) and one of her sculptures
Beyond Human Time
25 June 2020 - 15 August 2020
ÓLAFUR ELÍASSON
i8 Gallery
Tryggvagata 16
101 Reykjavík
info@i8.is
t: +354 551 3666
www.i8.is
VISIT !ÓPAVO"#$
C#LT#$E HO#SES
AND EXPERIENCE
NATURAL
HISTORY
MUSEUM

% ART MUSEUM
% PUBLIC LIBRARY
% CONCERT HALL
% MORE
CULTUREHOUSES.IS
Hamraborg 4–6&Kópavogur Bus 1,'2,'4,'28,'35 & 36