QUIESCENCE

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This expressive audiovisual work, a collaboration between visual artist Anna Fríða Jónsdóttir, musician and artist Abraham Brody, and cellist Ásta María Kjartansdóttir, interprets a quest for the silence that can be found in abundance in the artists’ native Iceland. The performance plays on the connection between the deep silence in nature and our perception of balance and rhythm, and the way that the key to our serenity lies in our own inner silence.

Music is used in an audiovisual performance as a metaphor for the struggle of the inner landscape finding the balance of the perfect rhythm of sound, silence, action, quiescence.

Icelandic events at Scandinavia House are made possible by the Consulate of Iceland in New York and Iceland Naturally in celebration of the centenary of Iceland’s independence and sovereignty.

About the Performers

Anna Fríða Jónsdóttir graduated with a B.A. of Fine Arts from The Iceland Academy of the Arts in 2010 and received her M.A in Art and Science in 2013 at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. Anna Fríða has had exhibitions in various locations including Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, The Natural History Museum Vienna, and Das Weisse Haus in co-operation with Paraflows digital festival. Anna Fríða has a piece in the collection of the Cultural Department of Vienna and is a 2015 recipient of an artist salary from the Government of Iceland. Her work Natural Law was exhibited last October in cooperation with Ásta at the Venice Biennale for Liechtenstein in a collateral event, Silver Lining, and will be presented this May at the Reykjavík Art Museum.

Ásta María Kjartansdóttir studied the cello at Reykjavík College of Music before moving to Vienna in 2008 to study solo performance at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna until 2013. During her studies she did private sessions and masterclasses with Erling Blöndal Bengtson, Heidi Litschauer, Erkki Lahesmaa, Walther Schulz, Bruno Weinmeister, and Steven Isserlis, and attended chamber music lessons with the Altenberg Trio and the Hugo Wolf quartett. She has since focused on working with chamber groups as well as participating in art performances. Ásta María has performed at Haus der Kunst in Baden, Akzent Theater, Off-Theater Wien, Harpa Concert Hall Reykjavík, Reykjavík Art Museum and the Venice Biennale.

Abraham Brody creates unique multidimensional experiences for his audiences. Bringing together music, performance art, and multimedia, he pushes the boundaries between performer and public and challenges the traditional notions of a performer in the 21st century by uniting these three art forms into one cohesive whole. For him, performance is a vehicle to transform himself and his audiences. He has collaborated with renowned performance artist Marina Abramovic, has travelled to far-eastern Siberia in search of shamans, and also creates the bulk of his solo works based on the folklore and music of his Lithuanian roots. He has performed and shown his works in such places as the Barbican Centre London (month-long residency in 2015), The Public Theater New York, Tate Modern, Southbank Centre London, Pace Gallery, Fondation Beyeler Basel, Sziget Festival Budapest, Solyanka VPA Moscow, Vortex Jazz Club London, and Rich Mix London, among others.

Iceland 100

In celebration of the centenary of Iceland’s independence and sovereignty, Scandinavia House and the Consulate of Iceland in New York bring you an Icelandic movie of the month through 2018.

For more about the centenary, please visit the website.