ICELAND: Artists Respond to Place focuses on the rich and complex relationship of contemporary Icelandic artists to the singular geography of their country—one of the most geologically dynamic places on earth. The exhibition features 11 of Iceland’s leading contemporary artists whose works cover a broad range of formal approaches and media, including painting, photography, sculpture, site-specific wall drawings, and video installations.
Icelandic artists are attuned to perpetual environmental flux, to physical changes in the land brought on by shifting geologic plates and volcanic eruptions, and the alternating solar rhythms of summer’s unending daylight and winter’s unsparing darkness. They have a heightened awareness of the environment as a dynamic, living entity—a place of extremes and dualities.
With its fiery volcanoes, glacial ice caps, powerful waterfalls, and unpredictable, often-violent atmospheric conditions, the austere, beguiling landscape of Iceland functions as muse and material for many Icelandic artists.
ICELAND: Artists Respond to Place features the work of Birgir Andrésson, Guðrún Einarsdóttir, Olafur Eliasson, Georg Guðni Hauksson, Einar Falur Ingólfsson, Guðjón Ketilsson, Eggert Pétursson, Ragna Róbertsdóttir, Egill Sæbjörnsson, Katrín Sigurðardóttir, and Þórdís Alda Sigurðardóttir.
The exhibition is curated by Pari Stave and organized by the Katonah Museum of Art.
Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Katonah Museum of Art (KMA) originates ten to twelve exhibitions annually, covering a broad range of art and humanities topics. From the beginning, the KMA was committed to presenting exceptional art from all cultures and time periods.
The founders’ decision to be a non-collecting institution resulted in a dynamic and flexible exhibition program, which remains one of the most distinctive features of the KMA. The KMA offers lectures, films, workshops, concerts, and other events for a general audience; and presents innovative and substantive programs for over 100 member schools.