October 27, 2015
Paintings of Two Eras – The Making of Erró and the D-exhibition series
Two exhibitions will be opened, Saturday 31 October
Erró’s formative years between 1955 and 1964 are the subject of the exhibition The Making of Erró, which will be opened at Reykjavík Art Museum – Hafnarhús Saturday 31 October at 4 pm. Another show will be opened at the same time, an exhibition of works by Úlfur Karlsson, a part of series which derives its name from Gallery D at Hafnarhús. Two artists are brought together who both have found their means of expression in painting, although a period of sixty years separates the oldest works from the most recent.
Both artists will be present at the opening of the exhibitions, which will be opened by the Mayor Reykjavík Dagur B. Eggertsson.
The Making of Erró presents an image of an artist who, while at the centre of the vortex of the art world, mostly in Paris, was experimenting and feeling his way towards a personal style. The exhibition explores how Erró gradually moved away from expressionistic works towards assemblage and collage, for which he has been best known in his later career.
Erró made his first collages, in which he combines drawings with press cuttings, in Jaffa Israel in 1958, but it was in Paris in 1959-60 that he started his pioneering work in transposing collage into painting. But it was not until 1964, when he immersed himself in the flood of pop-culture images in New York, that he developed his systematic method, by which collage became the key to the creation and technique of all his art. The Making of Erró looks back over this evolutionary period of nearly a decade.
The Making of Erró is accompanied by an exhibition catalogue written by Danielle Kvaran, curator of the show, who is a specialist at the Reykjavík Art Museum – Erró Collection.
The exhibition is supported by Alvogen in Iceland, the company has recently bought works by the artist which will be located in the new building of the company in Vatnsmýri.
At the opening of the exhibition, an award will be presented from the Guðmunda S. Kristinsdóttir Art Fund. The Fund, founded by Erró in memory of his aunt, serves to promote and support women’s art.
The Reykjavík Art Museum is also honoured to present a new exhibition by a young artist, Úlfur Karlsson (b. 1988), in Gallery D at Hafnarhús called We Are Not Afraid. Úlfur studied at the Valand Academy in Göteborg, Sweden, graduating in 2012. He has recently been showing interesting works in Reykjavík’s smaller galleries, and has participated in several group exhibitions, such as Nýmálað/Just Painted at the Reykjavík Art Museum – Hafnarhús earlier this year. Úlfur’s works consist predominantly of powerful, compelling paintings and installations in which multi-layered stories and events give shape to a world which references both reality and fantasy.
Úlfur’s show is one of a series that derives its name from Gallery D at Hafnarhús, which was held in 2007-2011, and is now resuming where it left off. The objective of the D-exhibitions is to showcase artists who have not previously held solo shows in Iceland’s major galleries. Úlfar’s show is the 23rd in the series. Curator is Yean Fee Quay.
Two exhibitions will be opened, Saturday 31 October
Erró’s formative years between 1955 and 1964 are the subject of the exhibition The Making of Erró, which will be opened at Reykjavík Art Museum – Hafnarhús Saturday 31 October at 4 pm. Another show will be opened at the same time, an exhibition of works by Úlfur Karlsson, a part of series which derives its name from Gallery D at Hafnarhús. Two artists are brought together who both have found their means of expression in painting, although a period of sixty years separates the oldest works from the most recent.
Both artists will be present at the opening of the exhibitions, which will be opened by the Mayor Reykjavík Dagur B. Eggertsson.
The Making of Erró presents an image of an artist who, while at the centre of the vortex of the art world, mostly in Paris, was experimenting and feeling his way towards a personal style. The exhibition explores how Erró gradually moved away from expressionistic works towards assemblage and collage, for which he has been best known in his later career.
Erró made his first collages, in which he combines drawings with press cuttings, in Jaffa Israel in 1958, but it was in Paris in 1959-60 that he started his pioneering work in transposing collage into painting. But it was not until 1964, when he immersed himself in the flood of pop-culture images in New York, that he developed his systematic method, by which collage became the key to the creation and technique of all his art. The Making of Erró looks back over this evolutionary period of nearly a decade.
The Making of Erró is accompanied by an exhibition catalogue written by Danielle Kvaran, curator of the show, who is a specialist at the Reykjavík Art Museum – Erró Collection.
The exhibition is supported by Alvogen in Iceland, the company has recently bought works by the artist which will be located in the new building of the company in Vatnsmýri.
At the opening of the exhibition, an award will be presented from the Guðmunda S. Kristinsdóttir Art Fund. The Fund, founded by Erró in memory of his aunt, serves to promote and support women’s art.
The Reykjavík Art Museum is also honoured to present a new exhibition by a young artist, Úlfur Karlsson (b. 1988), in Gallery D at Hafnarhús called We Are Not Afraid. Úlfur studied at the Valand Academy in Göteborg, Sweden, graduating in 2012. He has recently been showing interesting works in Reykjavík’s smaller galleries, and has participated in several group exhibitions, such as Nýmálað/Just Painted at the Reykjavík Art Museum – Hafnarhús earlier this year. Úlfur’s works consist predominantly of powerful, compelling paintings and installations in which multi-layered stories and events give shape to a world which references both reality and fantasy.
Úlfur’s show is one of a series that derives its name from Gallery D at Hafnarhús, which was held in 2007-2011, and is now resuming where it left off. The objective of the D-exhibitions is to showcase artists who have not previously held solo shows in Iceland’s major galleries. Úlfar’s show is the 23rd in the series. Curator is Yean Fee Quay.