Young and Emerging Artists

Uncertain States of America - American Art in the Third Millennium is a unique presentation of today's young and emerging American artists, currently on display at Hafnarhús, Reykjavík Art Museum. The curators Daniel Birnbaum, Gunnar Kvaran and Hans Ulrich Obrist set out with the rather general idea of finding out what preoccupies artists emerging in the United States today.

In early 2005, a postcard with a miniature interview announced a show: „Q: What are the United States of America? Maurizio Cattelan: In a way the United States don't exist; they are just a mirage. Which is both exciting and terribly frightening. Q: Do you like it here? Maurizio Cattelan: That's like asking yourself: do you like water or oxygen? You might hate them, but - for better or for worse - you cannot live without them."

And so the curators set out on a long journey crisscrossing the United States for a year, visiting studios, galleries, alternative art spaces and museums, gathering the most diverse, even contradictory, impressions of a multifaceted culture and bringing back to Europe more than a thousand artists' profiles for closer scrutiny. The exhibition Uncertain States of America is the result of this endeavor, and the title probably says it all.

If there is such a thing as a new vision or a common language it is that The Uncertain States of America are not entirely American - influences come from everywhere. In a period where the political culture of the United States is viewed with great skepticism and scrutiny at home and elsewhere in the world, it seems important to remind ourselves of this complexity. The Uncertain States of America are not only uncertain, they are also many. The artists are aware of their historical context and express on many different levels a clear social and political consciousness.

All of the artists are in their twenties or thirties and most of them hail from New York and Los Angeles, cities where influences come from all over, indeed. The exhibition is a fair representation of this new generation of American artists and is a great portrait of what is happening in American contemporary art. All the works break new creative ground and have a strong aesthetic awareness. The curators note that they have been confronted with a narrative art, and an ability to tell new and disparate stories. The exhibition consists of more than 120 works by over 40 young artists, and presents a wide spectrum of expressions.

Uncertain States of America was first shown at Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo last year and then traveled to Bard College in New York and Serpentine Gallery in London. After Reykjavík it will carry on to Herning in Denmark, Warsaw, Moscow and Beijing.

Open every day 10 - 17. Exhibition ends 21. January 2007

-hbv