Press Release , The Cityhall of the Municipality of Klaksvík 2006 , Culture Club, Club, Culture 1965 ), (* EDWARD FUGLØ EDWARD Press Release

From 16 May through 7 September 2008, the Leopold Museum is presenting the first comprehensive exhibition on the art of the Faroe Islands ever to be held outside of Scandinavia. After the successful Schiele exhibition at the Munch Museum Oslo last year, Nordic art is now on view in . Paintings, works of graphic art and installati- ons by 32 artists are brought together in the show.

Since 1948, the Faroese have been more or less autonomous as an “equal nation” of the Kingdom of Denmark. The country is among the smallest in Europe, with a population of approximately 50,000 and a surface area of 1,400 km2. The island dwellers speak Faroese, which is related to the Icelandic and Norwegian languages.

The art of the Faroe Islands is largely unknown outside of Scandinavia, and this is pri- marily a result of the country’s geographic isolation. The exhibition at the Leopold Mu- seum offers the public an opportunity to discover a fascinating region at the northern edge of Europe through its art and its artists, who have very certainly earned more widespread attention.

80 Works of Art from 6 Decades

In a selection of approximately 80 works of art dating from the last six decades, the ex- hibition traces a development that began with landscape and figural depictions in the tradition of the European avant-garde, and which to this day has led to a multiplicity of artistic approaches and forms of expression. The artworks are fresh and innovative, sur- prising the beholder with an irony, humour and deep respect for nature that are seldom found in the contemporary art of Continental Europe. The selection of artworks repre- sents the very personal decisions of curator Michael Fuhr and makes no pretensions of completeness. Artworks that seem typically Faroese are set in dialog.

The Faroe Islands are marked by their picturesque landscape, which is characterised by steep dark cliffs, deep fjords between green mountains, and abrupt changes in the weather, which often result in dramatic contrasts and dynamic light relationships that can often be highly irritating.

The exhibition is organised into the thematic areas “Nature/The Elements”, “People and Animals”, “Island Types”, “Tradition” and “Behind the Curtains”. Several “objects” are also to be seen.

The following paragraphs provide insight into positions in Faroese art through a few selected examples: Press Release

The poet and visual artist William Heinesen was born in 1900. His life encompassed almost the entire 20th century. He died at an advanced age in 1991. Although his litera- ry language was Danish, the content is distinctly Faroese. The sagas and songs of his homeland take life in his poems, and also in his pictures. The pastel “The Agitator” (1952) shows a view from behind of a humanlike figure with hair standing wildly from his head. Gesturing fiercely with his hands in the air, he whips up the emotions of a crowd with wide open mouths. The “Agitator” stands on the rocks, while the towering heads of those around him reflect this setting. Their roughly jeering, kobold-like faces – with eyes narrowed to slits or bulging out of their sockets, moustaches and pointy ears – acclaim the protagonist’s actions.

Sámal Joensen-Mikines (1906–1979) is quite certainly the most well-known artist of the Faroe Islands. He succeeded in ingeniously bringing traditional themes into modern painting. The harsh surroundings of the remote island Mykines were the background against which he grew up in. Both of his sisters and his father died of tuberculosis. On account of his fragile health, he was not inclined to take on traditional professions, such as fishing. Thus he decided to become an artist. The years at the Academy in Copenha- gen (from 1928) and trips to Norway and Paris opened the door to world-class art for him. Mikines was fascinated by Munch in Norway and by Delacroix and El Greco in the French capital. The artist’s epic colorism expressively depicts traditional activities such as the pilot whale hunt or the chain dance. The dramatic 1942 painting “Whaling” shows a battle scene of another sort in era of the Second World War. The blood-red water and the blazing sky highlight the struggle between man and animal in a battle against the immeasurable power of nature.

The art of Ruth Smith (1913–1958) takes a coloristic approach with distinctly realist ten- dencies. The influence of Cézanne and Van Gogh is tangible. Ruth Smith was the daugh- ter of a fisher and paint merchant, who died at the early age of 40, at which time she was only nine years old. After her father’s death she helped out in the family store, then becoming a letter carrier and later going to Denmark, where among other things she worked in a hospital laundry in Copenhagen. Through an acquaintance with a patient she began attending an art school and then moved on to the Academy. In 1948 she re- turned to the Faroe Islands with her husband, where she died ten years later in a tragic swimming accident. The artist’s self-portraits are gripping on account of the isolated depiction of their subjects and their psychological depth. Her landscapes demonstrate an exceptionally intensive use of colour. Press Release

Ingálvur av Reyni (1920–2005) chose the path of abstraction. During the war, av Reyni was in Copenhagen, where he attended the Academy of Fine Arts. The form and struc- ture of his subjects is reduced, approaching abstraction.

Steffan Danielsen (1922–1976), like Mikines and Smith, was born on one of the country’s smaller islands. He was an autodidact and, with the exception of a five-year Denmark intermezzo, spent his entire life on the little island, which is known for its bird colonies. Through their reduced formal language, his portraits are reminiscent of American Pop Art.

Tróndur Patturson’s (b. 1944) work is closely related to handicrafts. His eight-meter long glass image “Deep Sea” is featured in the exhibition. Before scintillating blue tones, we see a huge whale gliding effortlessly through the space.

In the work of the autodidact and trained commercial artist Astri Luihn (b. 1949 in Nor- way), figurative forms are set in seemingly abstract surfaces. Nature and the animal world play a key role in her work. The exhibition features works from her “Bird Rocks” series (2007). Press Release

FAROE ISLANDS 1 – 0: THE BIRTH OF A LEGEND

A special theme of the exhibition – which quite fits in with the football championship taking place in Austria this year – is the European Cup qualification game between the Faroe Islands and Austria. The game, which took place on 12 September 1990 in the Swedish city of Landskrona, represents a point of intersection between art and sport. The Austrian team under was at the time the clear favourite. Le- gendary players, such as , Michael Konsel and Andreas Herzog, participated in the match. Nonetheless, the Faroese team succeeded in preventing a single goal, while in the 62nd minute they scored one of their own, yielding a 1:0 victory. Goalie Torkil Nielsen became a national hero, and a four-meter high statue was erected in his honour in Torshavn, the island country’s capital. A smaller version of the statue, created by Hans Pauli Olsen (b. 1957), is on view in the exhibition. Olsen, the Faroe Islands’ most important sculptor, has created numerous monuments for public space.

An installation recalling the highlights of the football match will also be shown, in- cluding an audio track contrasting the Austrian commentary and the original Faro- ese play-by-play. The famous knit cap of goalie Martin Knudsen is a further curiosity featured in the exhibition. The Austrian football hero Toni Polster, who in Landskrona played one of the few games in which he was not able to kick a single goal, is a guest of honour at the exhibition opening.

One of the exhibition’s most memorable images stems from the brush of Edward Fuglø (b. 1965): “Culture Club”, a surreal painting created in 2006, shows uniformly dressed gentlemen in black suits with ties. They sit in rowed seats reminiscent of a cinema. Each of them displays the head of a puffin, a typical Faroese bird with a colourful beak. All of the heads gaze in the same direction. Fuglø’s ironic depictions criticise political, econo- mic or plain and simply human mechanisms.

Photography also represents a key area of the exhibition: Ingi Joensen’s (b. 1953) nature photographs exert a magnetic attraction on the gaze of the beholder (“Mountains”, 1989). Annie Heinesen (b. 1974) constructs scenes that serve as a basis for her installations. The work group shown in the exhibition (2004) presses a human body into various positions in geometric forms, similarly to the “uomo quadra- to” of Leonardo da Vinci. Annika á Lofti (b. 1983) trained in Copenhagen and is currently studying in Iceland. Her hologram photography puts the nude torso of a man at centre stage. With closed eyes, he receives a beam of light that strikes his chest, whereby the figure dissolves into light to various degrees depending on its position. The work’s phi- losophical character refers to stigmata, resurrection and other Christian symbols and to universal philosophical or religious conceptions of becoming and passing. Press Release

THE ARTISTS OF THE EXHIBITION

William Heinesen (1900-1991) Sámal Joensen-Mikines (1906-1979) Janus Kamban (*1913) Ruth Smith (1913-1958) Jóannis Kristiansen (1918-1988) Elinborg Lützen (1919-1995) Hans Hansen (1920-1970) Ingálvur av Reyni (1920-2005) Steffan Danielsen (1922-1976) Zacharias Heinesen (*1936) Arnold Vegghamar (*1937) Tita Vinther (*1941) Tróndur Patursson (*1940) Thomas Arge (1942-1978) Eivindur i Gongini (*1944) Jóna Rasmussen (*1946) Astrid Andreasen (*1948) Astri Luihn (*1949) Sigrun Gunnarsdottir (*1950) Ingi Joensen (*1953) Hans Pauli Olsen (*1957) Hjørdis Haack (*1958) Øssur Mohr (*1961) Anker Mortensen (*1961) Edward Fuglø (*1965) Marius Olsen (*1963) Beinta av Reyni (*1970) Jógvan Sverasson Biskopstø (*1970) Øssur Johannessen (*1970) Annie Heinesen (*1974) Svanhild Strøm (*1979) Annika á Lofti (*1983) Press Release

CATALOGUE

A bilingual catalogue in English and German is being published on the occasion of the exhibition:

Leopold Museum – Listasavn Føroya (Faroe Islands Art Museum) (eds.). The Modern Art of the Faroe Islands. Vienna – Tørshavn, 2008, 160 pages with numerous illustrations and articles by Dagmar Warming and Michael Fuhr.

WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO THE LENDERS ON THE FAROE ISLANDS

The Prime Minister’s Office, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands The Faroese Parliament’s Office, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands The Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands The Municipality of Tørshavn, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands The Municipality of Klaksvík, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands Føroya Banki, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands Norðoya Sparikassi, Klaksvík Hotel Norð, Viðareiði Ruth Smith Museum, Vágur The Faroe Islands Art Museum, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands Annie Heinesen Beatrice Thomas á Heygum Beinta Fossádal, Kopenhagen, Dänemark Brynhild Næs Petersen Helgi Fossádal Eyðvør og Jóannes av Váli Martin Nolsøe Simonsen, Kopenhagen, Dänemark Toke Morel Neve, Kopenhagen, Dänemark Zacharias Heinesen

Supported by Königlich Dänische Botschaft Atlantic Airways Smyril Line visitfaroeislands.com Tórshavnar Komuna OeSD Press Release

GENERAL INFORMATIONS

Guided tours are available in a variety of languages. Tour ticket € 3.- 1 guide + max. 25 persons € 70.- 1 guide/evening after 6 p.m. and Thursdays after 7 p.m. € 105.- Bookings and Information: +43/1/525 70-1525 [email protected]

Opening Hours Daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. www.leopoldmuseum.org

Address Leopold Museum Museumsplatz 1 1070 Vienna Museumsquartier

Admission Prices Adults € 9.- Pupils and students € 5.50 Seniors € 7.-

Partner of the Leopold Museum WIENER STÄDTISCHE – Vienna Insurance Group

Co-operating Partner in the Exhibition ORF Österreich 1 Club

Sponsors Hochriegl Post.at Siwacht

Klaus Pokorny [email protected] Tel +43.1.525 70 - 1507 Fax +43.1.525 70 - 1500