NOVEMBER 15, 2016 - JANUARY 15, 2017, DUUS MUSEUM, REYKJANESBÆR, ICELAND
"Our earth is not a stable entity; we live on itsʽ very mobile surface. The natural world is far from settled but ever changeable and inconstant." __ Ragna Sigurðardóttir in catalogue essay (English translation) above_and_below_the_horizon.docx
"This is essentially the point of view expressed by a show entitled Við sjónarrönd, a joint project of artists Elva Hreiðarsdóttir, Phyllis Ewen and Soffía Sæmundsdóttir."
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 HOW IT BEGAN In August 2014, I went to Iceland with a group from the Boston Printmakers where I met many wonderful Icelandic artist members of Íslensk Grafík/ The Icelandic Printmakers Associatoin. I was inspired by the colors and activity of geothermal landscape on the peninsula of Reykjanes SW of Reykjavik and when I returned began to create pieces using photographs I’d taken at Gunnuhver. |   |
Two artists, Elva Hreidarsdottir and Soffia Sæmondsdottir, visited my studio two months later, and as we looked at what I was working on we realized that we shared an esthetic, interests, and concerns. We decided that the three of us would do something together and began writing a proposal for an exhibit. Elva presented our idea to the Art Museum at Reykjanesbær, located not far from the location of my inspiration and to our delight, it was accepted and the date was set to open in November 2016. We received the official letter in October 2015 with a year to prepare.
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PREPARATION
Elva and Soffia were on site - in Iceland - and-so took the lead in discussions with Inga Thorey, our curator about how she envisioned the show. The museum space is 2500 square feet, with the long wall 75 ft. A large space to fill and a great challenge for three artists.
It was decided that each artist would show a substantial body of her individual work and that we would also work together on a collaborative piece. Soffia had a residency in upstate New York a year ago, so she and I met in Northampton MA to look at images and talk about the show. She helped me pick some smaller pieces that I had done and we each threw out ideas about our joint piece. Coincidentally, we were both excited by the maps of the ocean floor that the geologist Marie Tharp had made in the 1950s. We agreed that we would work with those images together (see earlier posts). And as it turned out, Soffia's work in the exhibit also evolved from her immersion in the underwater landscape.
Elva and Soffia were on site - in Iceland - and-so took the lead in discussions with Inga Thorey, our curator about how she envisioned the show. The museum space is 2500 square feet, with the long wall 75 ft. A large space to fill and a great challenge for three artists.
It was decided that each artist would show a substantial body of her individual work and that we would also work together on a collaborative piece. Soffia had a residency in upstate New York a year ago, so she and I met in Northampton MA to look at images and talk about the show. She helped me pick some smaller pieces that I had done and we each threw out ideas about our joint piece. Coincidentally, we were both excited by the maps of the ocean floor that the geologist Marie Tharp had made in the 1950s. We agreed that we would work with those images together (see earlier posts). And as it turned out, Soffia's work in the exhibit also evolved from her immersion in the underwater landscape.
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