Desperate Efforts at Communication

Our girl in New York: Artist Þórdís Aðalsteinsdóttir. She's one of Iceland's most promising young artists. She studied at the Iceland Academy of the Arts and after a one year stint at the Universidad de Barcelona she was off to New York where she studied at the School of Visual Arts. At school Þórdís was already mesmerizing gallery owners and has been with the Stefan Stux gallery in Chelsea ever since her graduation. Her third solo exhibition in New York is currently on display at Stux. This fall she receives the honour of putting up a solo exhibition at Kjarvalsstaðir - the Reykjavík Art Museum. Her idiosyncratic figurative paintings are a breath of fresh air to the Icelandic art scene. The subjects - both human and animal - are often represented by unsettling distortions of their natural forms, and inhabit a bizarre zone somewhere between realist figuration, cartoons, anime and pure fantasy.

Like so many other artists you live in Williamsburg in Brooklyn. What is your neighbourhood like?

Very loud people, a lot of young mothers with many children, like Iceland in that way but with the added bonus of gangsters and life on the streets.

Why did you go to New York and how long ago was it that you moved there? I came here for a visit and was quite taken by the city, the variety of food and some wonderful people I got to know so I have stayed here now for six years.

How did you become a painter?

I was lurking around some paint buckets. I was in a dark mood and accidentally spilled some paint on canvas and had a revelation.

What are your paintings about?

Personal fantasies and memories, which go back unquestionably to personal experiences, mixed with ones of more impersonal character corresponding to the collective elements of the human psyche in general.

You painted a series from the Old Testament. Do you believe in God?

No.

What inspires you?

Certain other artists and desperate efforts at communicating.

Who or what are your strongest influences?

Schiele, Rothko and others. And the pathetically yet beautifully emotional states of being.

What's the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?

Have coffee and listen to the radio.

What's a typical day for you?

It's filled with exotic adventures.

What is your favourite thing about New York?

The food and how the crowd gives me more personal space in an odd way.

Tell us about your show at Stux.

It's called "A Cheerful Reminder of our Lives and Loves" and that is a pretty accurate description.

What is your next project?

I'm going to an artist residency in upstate New York.

What do you think about the art scene in Reykjavík?

It is very energetic and emotional.

Is there a big difference between the Reykjavík and New York art scene?

I am prone to think so but it is all part of a big whole.

How do you feel about your show at Kjarvalsstaðir this fall?

Great.

How do you feel about working in Iceland again?

August is a great month to leave New York and cool down near the melting glaciers.

What do you miss the most about Reykjavík?

The swimming pools.

Where would you take tourists in Reykjavík?

I would take them swimming.

How do you picture your future?

I can't picture it at all.

If you had one wish, what would it be?

That the East River was made of gin.

Hanna Björk Valsdóttir

Photo by Elísabet Davíðsdóttir