Summerhall

Birgir Andrésson (1955 - 2007) used conceptual strategies to explore aspects of Icelandic culture and national identity. Raised in a home for the blind as the sighted child of blind parents, Andrésson was particularly attuned to the relationship between language and perception. 

 

A signature element in Andrésson's work is the use of colour, in particular the set of colours he designated as being uniquely "Icelandic" in the 1980s. Creating a fictional Pantone colour set inspired by the natural surroundings of Iceland, Andrésson often displayed them as large-scale wall paintings featuring a block of colour with its number and title. They resemble an amplified version of a colour swatch - the paintings playfully commenting on popular representations of Iceland. Andrésson used these colours as a kind of visual language, assigning Icelandic colours to existing cultural artifacts such as classic black and white Hollywood films in the series Black and White Classics in Icelandic colours. Similarly, he created a series of portraits in which individuals are represented through textual descriptions, drawn from sources such as reports of criminals and missing persons, rendered in the same style as the Icelandic colour swatches. 

 

The relevant boundaries of Summerhall will be marked by the four large painted works the Northernmost North, the Easternmost East, the Southernmost South and the Westernmost West - turning the entire building into an Andrésson work. 

 

 

Mon-Sun 11am-9pm 

Outside August: Mon-Sun, 11am-6pm