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Contemporary Faroese Art
Modern Art from the Faroe Islands
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Located between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, the Faroe Islands are approximately equal distances from Norway, Scotland and Iceland. They are possessions of Denmark. |
With a tiny population of less than 50,000 and a fishing based economy the art scene is largely unknown outside of Scandinavia.
Austria's Leopold Museum plans to change that having organized an exhibition exploring Modern Art from the Faroe Islands; Europe's smallest country.
The Faroese Islands have a unique landscape which figures prominently in many of the works on display. Steep cliffs, deep fjords and massive green mountains combined with a changing climate that alters light conditions.
Included in the exhibition will be works by Stefan Danielsen, Sámal Joensen-Mikines and Zacharias Heinesen.
The Heinesens
Title: Wooden Relief / Treibholzrelief (Collage), 1976
Artist: Zacharias Heinesen (b. 1936)
Medium: Holz / Wood
Dimensions: 78 x 80 cm
Permanent Collection: The Faroe Islands Art Museum
Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
Image Courtesy: Leopold Museum
One of the foremost contemporary artists in the Faroe Islands is Zacharias Heinesen, son of the late writer and artist William Heinesen.
William Heinesen: The Father
The writer, William, once referred to the capital of the Faore Island, Tórshavn, as "the navel of the World". The capital city was central in many of his writings. His first novel, published in 1934, was entitled Blćsende gry or Stormy Dawn.
Zacharias Heinesen - The Son
Zacharias studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Art, Copenhagen. Well respected in his home land, one of his artworks is found on the reverse of the 200 Faroese kronur bank note issued in 2004. Besides wood reliefs Zacharias paints in oil and watercolors, draws and creates paper collages.
Spanning sixty years, Modern Art from the Faroe Islands, looks at the development of art beginning with the 1940s.
Modern Art from the Faroe Islands
Leopold Museum:
May 16 - September 7 2008