Opening 17 October at 18:00
The exhibition, Symbiosis, consists of woven paintings and large-scale silk works. All material is dyed with acrylic paint and plants from the land Þúfugarðar in the south of Iceland where the artist lives. In this exhibition the plant color is the material which embodies the specific social and ecological context of the two acres plot of land where they grow. These are common plants such as: water avens, garden angelica, wild timian, dwarf willow, crowberry, northern bedstraw and reindeer moss. The plants form a natural color system as opposed to the acrylic paint which is a man-made system of color. The works in the exhibition create a platform for these different substances to meet and engage in a dialogue.
Bjarnadóttir is interested in creating works that explore the communication and cohabitation between living organisms in one time and place, by means of dwelling in nature and creating a home there.
Since 2014, Þúfugarðar has provided her with this opportunity and has brought forward questions about the cohabitation of humans, animals and plants. The term, symbiosis, is in the foreground of the work in this exhibition. The term can take on different meanings, both positive and negative. It is used to describe the cohabitation of different lifeforms living in close proximity in the same place. By definition such a relationship can be a parasitic relationship or a collaborative relationship. Symbiosis also means a relationship of living organisms which have the same vested interests, working together towards the same goal.
The works are theories of possibilities as they explore variations, compromises, adaption and friction in the cohabitation of humans, animals and plants, through a natural and man-made system of color, sophisticated order and chaos.
Hildur Bjarnadóttir (b. 1969) lives and works at Þúfugarðar in the South of Iceland. She graduated from the textile department of The Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts in 1992 and finished her MFA degree from the fine arts department in Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York in 1997. Autumn 2013 she started working on her PhD in fine arts at the Bergen Academy of Art and Design which she completed in February 2017. Hildur has held many exhibitions in Europe and the USA, including solo shows at The Reykjavík Art Museum, Kjarvalsstaðir, Bergen Kjøtt, Norway, Kunstnerforbundet in Oslo, Hverfisgallerí and Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík, and The Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID, USA. Her works have been purchased by museums and private collectors such as The Reykjavík Art Museum, The National Gallery of Iceland, The Art Council Norway, Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum in Trondheim, KODE 1 in Bergen, The Mint Museum, NC. USA, and the Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID, USA. Hildur is associate professor in the MA program at The Iceland University of the Arts.
The post HVERFISGALLERÍ is pleased to announce HILDUR BJARNADÓTTIR’s solo exhibition Symbiosis at Soft Galleri in Oslo appeared first on sím.