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Gunnar Örn Gunnarsson: In the Depths of Your Own Awareness
21 May, 2022–28 August, 2022
Gunnar Örn Gunnarsson held his first solo exhibition in Unuhús in 1970 and he came to make waves in the Icelandic art scene at the start of the 1970s, as his powerful work quickly drew attention to this young and self-taught artist.
Straight away with his first exhibition, Gunnar Örn raised existential questions about the pressing tempo and detachment of modern society.
Human existence was a constant source of inspiration for the artist, providing him with subject material for his whole career, in the struggle of man against himself – of existing in the world. His whole body of work is characterised by his spiritual search, on a journey where the canvas echoes the artist’s personal experiences.
Gunnar Örn was an extremely prolific artist and left a great many artworks: drawings, monotypes, paintings, sculptures and watercolours, as well as works created with mixed technique.
This retrospective exhibition will feature works spanning the artist’s career, of almost forty years, during which he went through a number of transformations and changed his style a few times.
Gunnar Örn Gunnarsson (1946-2008) took cello lessons in Copenhagen in 1963-64, as well as attending Svend Nielsen’s drawing school in Denmark, though he was otherwise a self-taught artist. Gunnar Örn was an active presence in the Icelandic art scene, exhibiting regularly both here and abroad, for example in Denmark, Tokyo, Budapest and in Achim Moeller’s gallery, Moeller Fine Art, New York. Notably, Gunnar Örn was Iceland’s representative at the Venice Bienniale in 1988.
Gunnar Örn Gunnarsson hélt sína fyrstu einkasýningu í Unuhúsi árið 1970 og kom með áberandi hætti inn í myndlistarsenuna á Íslandi í byrjun áttunda áratugarins, þar sem kraftmikil verk hans vöktu fljótt athygli á ungum sjálfmenntuðum listamanni.
Strax á fystu sýningu sinni leggur Gunnar Örn upp með tilvistarlegar spurningar um knýjandi hraða og firringu nútímasamfélagsins. Tilvist mannsins var honum stöðug uppspretta og viðfangsefni allan hans feril, glíma mannsins við sjálfan sig – það að vera til í heiminum. Allt höfundarverk Gunnars Arnar einkennist af andlegri leit hans á þessu ferðalagi, þar sem striginn bergmálar persónulega upplifun listamannsins.
Gunnar Örn var gríðarlega afkastamikill listamaður og eftir hann liggur mikill fjöldi verka: teikningar, einþrykk, málverk og skúlptúrar, vatnslitaverk auk verka sem unnin eru með blandaðri tækni. Á sýningunni verða sýnd verk frá öllum ferli Gunnars Arnar, sem spannar tæplega fjörtíu ár, en á þeim tíma gekk hann í gegnum nokkrar umbreytingar og stokkaði reglulega upp viðfangsefni sín.
Gunnar Örn Gunnarsson (1946-2008) lærði á selló í Kaupmannahöfn veturinn 1963-64 og sótti einnig teikninámskeið hjá Svend Nielsen í Danmörku en var að öðru leiti sjálfmenntaður í myndlist. Gunnar Örn var virkur í sýningarhaldi hér á landi, auk þess sem verk hans voru meðal annars sýnd í Danmörku, Tókýó, Búdapest og í galleríi Achims Moeller í New York. Gunnar Örn var fulltrúi Íslands á Feneyjatvíæringnum árið 1988.
Sýningarstjóri er Aldís Arnardóttir.
