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54 A T L A N T I C A54 A T L A N T I C A ART
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Painter Pétur Fridrik Sigurdsson was an artist greatly loved by the Icelandic public for
his beautiful depictions of his country. Using oils and watercolours as a medium, his
motifs were Iceland’s vast landscapes, famous landmarks and city scenes. Growing up
in wartime Reykjavík, Pétur Fridrik first exhibited at the tender young age of thirteen.
Later on he became well known both domestically and abroad, exhibiting in Paris, New
York, Berlin and Copenhagen. He liked to play on the light and shadows in Icelandic
nature and found each shadow to have its own different colour. “Everyone observes
landscapes with different eyes, noticing things that other people miss,” he was quoted
as saying. Pétur Fridrik passed away in the autumn of 2002, and this year homage was
paid to his life works with an overview of his paintings at his former home in Gardabær,
a suburb of Reykjavík. AMB
Pétur Fridrik’s paintings can be viewed for sale by contacting Anna Pétursdóttir,
tel. (354) 862 8307.
This summer, the National Gallery proudly presents a large exhibition of con-
temporary art in the United States. The works derive from the Astrup
Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo, Norway, and are by artists includ-
ing Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, Charles Ray, Bruce Nauman
and Louise Lawler.
The emphasis is on the 1990’s when the attention of artists was drawn to the
kind of reality people lived in, how they consumed in it and how they per-
ceived their environment. Thus the artworks refer to society in various ways
and show how everyday aesthetics may become the building materials of
artistic innovation and insight. AMB
Close-up – American Contemporary Art, from May 14 to June 27
at the National Gallery, Fríkirkjuvegur 7, 101 Reykjavík, www.natgall.is
Shadows and Light
Artist Inga K draws her inspiration from the volatile nature of the Icelandic landscape.
Using raw materials such as clay and porcelain, and different methods of burning and
working them, she obtains effects that imitate the various forms visible in Icelandic nature.
“I like the juxtapositions in this harsh country, where the volcanic land interplays with the
ocean, the ice and the fragile vegetation,” she explains. Often, the clay surface imitates
the cracks in a glacier or on lava fields, and the colours reflect the green-blue hues of the
North Atlantic and frozen expanses of ice. Her work ranges from beautiful bowls, remi-
niscent of lava stone, to delicate, soft lighting. Inga K has held various exhibitions through-
out Iceland and her beautiful objects are for sale at Gallerí Fold (Raudarárstígur and
Kringlan Shopping Mall), Gallerí Reykjavík (Skólavördustígur) and Listfléttan gallery in
Akureyri. AMB
Mirroring Nature
American
Contemporary Art
‘GUN’ BY ANDY WARHOL
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