A Little More Art in Iceland

Strolling the streets of Reykjavik you will come upon galleries, stores, places of historical or cultural interest, and plenty of tourist shops featuring everything "Viking" that you could desire. It's your choice, but to buy anything you must forget your penny pinching. Iceland is expensive!

















I let myself purchase only one item, and thereafter could only look longingly at the ceramics and woolens without buying because my krona to dollar app told me, "Nay."








My one splurge was a linen table runner, an item I knew I would use and enjoy as a remembrance of my visit to Iceland. It was designed in Iceland, but I wondered, was it made in Iceland? I asked, and indeed, it was not, but made in Finland. Good enough.






There is some interesting architecture to be seen in Reykjavik, but not very much that is older than the 19th century. Reykjavik's progress into the society of travel worthy world capitals is a very recent one.

inside Harpa 

One example of modern architecture is Harpa, a jewel-like theater and cultural center by the harbor. At night, colored lights flash across its outer walls like the lights of the aurora borealis. 

The church named after poet and writer of hymns, Hallsgrimur Petersson,  Hallsgrimskirkja is a landmark one can see from afar, perched on a high point in the city center. Its design by Gudjon Samuelsson was controversial at first. It was 41 years in the making, finished in 1986, and now its concrete structure is in the process of restoration.

The clear glass windows fill the whitewashed interior with light, lending it a modern feeling despite the gothic vaulted ceiling.

You may take an elevator to the top, but a long line in the vestibule discouraged me. At night, I saw a beautiful effect created by light shining through many slit openings in the top of the steeple.





The line of people also blocked some of the large canvases on display that I admired.

I saw ceramics for sale in all the museum and tourist shops as well as galleries. Here are but a few by ceramicist Olof Saemundsdottir at the Stigur gallery.

These bowls were quite large, perhaps 12 inches in diameter, the cups much smaller, all with a variety of glazes, but almost all with a white tint to them. There is something  about white that appeals to the Nordic esthetic. I wonder why?

There is much more art to see in Iceland, but I and my group of explorers were keen to see the country, bask in hot springs and ride the Icelandic horses. But if you don't have our luck with the weather (sunny for 6 days straight) you can spend more time with the art of Iceland.

Icelandic Abstraction

The Asmundarsafn Museum is one of three buildings, along with the Kjarvalsstadir which I wrote about in my last post, that make up the Reykjavik Art Museum. It is the former home and studio of sculptor Asmundur Sveinsson.

The building was designed by the artist. Two truncated pyramids flank the entrance, at the center is the dome and at the rear, now joined to the rest of the building, but once separate, is a crescent shaped room with skylights. He was inspired to use the dome form by the villas of Greece, a country that like Iceland, lacks trees, so does not use wood extensively in its buildings. The pyramids he said, were inspired by ancient Egypt, and the crescent shape a practical solution to store his materials at the rear.

 This charming lamp, one of a pair, lights steps inside the entry hall. It is an example of Asmundur's early sculpture. More figurative stone sculptures can be seen on the grounds of the museum. At the time I was there, they were blanketed in snow, so I confined my visit to the indoor spaces.





There is no resemblance to a home in the present day, despite the free coffee by the gift shop. The overall impression to me of this museum is a kind of pure, minimalist grandeur on a small scale. 

inside the dome

Asmundur's studio, I was informed, was directly under the dome, though I am unclear if a second level was then in use. 

This second floor space pictured here seems impractical to me. How would large sculptures be moved out of the studio? I saw no elevator or outside doors, just a staircase of average dimensions. I should have asked. 

Two crescent-shaped rooms made wonderful light filled gallery spaces for the sculptors later work. Abstract sculptures in cast metal and also sculptural assemblages of metal rods and wire occupied plinths on the marble floor.






On the walls drawings and collages by the artist were equally interesting to me. Some appear to be working sketches with pencil underdrawings clearly visible under ink and paint.

Eva Speaks, 1950

Looking at the sculpture of the blacksmith above, and then at the sculptures in the following photographs, one can see the progression of Asmundur's work from blocky semi-realistic figures to pure abstraction. In his work we see the big changes that occurred in western art in the 20th century.

Time, 1952

Asmundur appears to have been born at the right time, a time when art was being freed from the strictures of realistic rendering and mimicry of form. In his own words:

"I think I was always destined for abstract art, even if I didn't realise it myself. Even when I painted nature I was always more concerned with the composition than the subject being painted."

Iceland's "Most Beloved" Painter

The country of Iceland has a captivating landscape. I marveled at its beauty as we drove southeast on Route 1 out of Reykjavik. Its mountains, lava fields, waterfalls, glaciers and steaming waters thick with minerals, were exotic compared to my home in New Jersey. There perhaps lies the inspiration for artists of Iceland, but only partially. I saw art inspired by family life, Icelandic myths and fantasy in addition to landscapes.



Two small museums offered a glimpse at two of the most famous artists. Named after painter Johannes S. Karval (1885-1972), the Kjarvalsstadir Museum had only two exhibit spaces: one with Karval's paintings and another for contemporary exhibits. In this post, I will share what I saw at this one museum.

Mouth of a Fjord, 1947

Karval's work was often based on Icelandic myths like this painting of a ship being blown by a god-like figure.

This painting depicts very human-looking elves around their rock dwelling place.

In Iceland the traditional belief is that supernatural creatures inhabit wild places especially around the abundant boulders scattered everywhere. These creatures can be a nuisance to humans if they are disturbed. These elves appear rather ominous and aloof - I would not mess with them.

Elves' Rocks, 1935

This painting depicts very human-looking elves around their rock dwelling place.

In Iceland the traditional belief is that supernatural creatures inhabit wild places especially around the abundant boulders scattered everywhere. These creatures can be a nuisance to humans if they are disturbed. These elves appear rather ominous and aloof - I would not mess with them.

Shield Maiden, 1961

Faces and figures painted with ethereal contour lines tell stories that might be familiar to an Icelander, but suggest unknown mysteries to me.

Fantasy, 1947

Spring Thaw at Mt. Esja, 1956-7

Landscapes depicted the spectacular natural areas in Iceland. This snow covered mountain looks like the scenes we saw in late February and early March.

And this lava field with the rugged mountains and what appears to be a glacier beyond it, is typical of Iceland's terrain.

This painting shows a bit of the Unesco World Heritage site Pingvellir, an area of deep chasms and a vast plain still actively being formed by the movement of the earth's tectonic plates. Here is where the early government of Iceland was formed, outside against the amphitheater-like  cliff walls.

Here I am with a lovely painting of rocks and lichen, so you can see, the landscapes are often quite large. If you look closely, can you see elves? There must be some magical creatures hidden in this richly textured canvas.

I love the glimpse of a white glacier beyond the far mountains.

Karval is a beloved painter of Iceland who in return loved his country. He was the artist who awoke and educated the average, reserved and stoic Icelander to the mysteries of art with paintings of subjects they could relate to. Finding the words to explain art was not easy for him, he said - he probably had the same struggle with shyness that is a cultural trait for many Icelander - but he succeeded. Now Iceland is a country where art is widely seen in galleries, museums and even tourist shops . 

Next post: the Asmundarsafn Museum.