Birgir Andrésson

Work:
The Infinite Day / Endalaus dagurinn, 2005.

Wall painting, household paint; dimensions variable. Courtesy of the Estate of Birgir Andrésson and i8 Gallery Reykjavík

Venue:
Grandagarður

Birgir Andrésson primarily explores color as the formal language of Icelandic culture, its landscape and art history. These exercises in color are earnest, futile, and superfluous; the artist’s palette is “real” insofar as any trait can be considered inherent in a culture. They are a sort of derivative translation or extraction, illustrating Andrésson’s perceptions of his home country and personal upbringing.

Some paintings resemble paint color samples, suggesting that these paintings are s subset of larger series and palettes, and directly referencing Andrésson’s larger practice. Within his painting practice, Andrésson may address specific elements of the Icelandic environment or culture.

Sequences VIII presented a wall painting of Andrésson’s work The Infinite Day (2005) by the Reykjavík harbor. This work points to the Icelandic sky at a particular moment in the calendar year when daylight takes on an infinite quality, stretching beyond the 24-hour cycle of a day. In this work, time and color are conflated, suggesting that both concepts are dependent on the viewer’s perception and evocative of individual experiences of daylight and infinity.