Einar Hákonarson
Encyclopedia
Einar Hákonarson is one of Iceland's best known artists. He is an expressionistic and figurative
painter who brought the figure back into Icelandic painting in 1968. He is a pioneer in the Icelandic art scene and art education. He has been called “The crusader of the painting”, due to his involvement in those conflicts many Icelandic painters have had with the public fine art centers over the last 20 years.
Einar Hákonarson was raised in Kleppsholt, Reykjavík. He started to paint and draw at a very young age. His father was a part-time artist and his 2 uncles were avid art lovers which was uncommon at that time in Iceland.
Einar was only 15 years old when he was accepted to The National Art School of Iceland. There he received his education for the next 4 years following which he went abroad to Gothenburg
Sweden
and to study at Valand School of Fine Arts
where he received influence from new modes of art and was influenced by figurative painting.
Whilst Einar was still studying in Sweden he won the Nordic countries
art prize after an exhibition in the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
in Copenhagen
, Denmark
. He won a prize in Buenos Aires
, Argentina
, for his printmaking
, and an international printmaking prize in Ljubljana
, former Yugoslavia
, for a series of pictures after a trip to the Auschwitz concentration camp
in Poland
.
, figurative
and expressionistic. This exhibition brought the figure back into the Icelandic painting, which had been dominated by the abstract art for years.
Einar has always been consistent in his art and his values. He paints in oil on canvas
but also works with other mediums like printmaking
, sculpture
, stained glass
, enamels
and mosaic
. The human in its environment has been a visible thread through his 40 year carrier. Einar claims that he gets more influenced by feeling for nature, rather than by trying to paint a specific part of it.
In his work can be seen different kinds of focus, for example on city life and the modern family unit. He has done a series about The Icelandic sagas, the Holocaust
and communism
, to name but a few. Religious themes are common in Einar’s art and he frequently makes pictures from the Bible.
In later years Einar’s painting style has become loosed from the strict style at the beginning of his carrier, but without having abandoned a disciplined composition
. Apart from Iceland, Einar has lived in Sweden (7 years on and off) and for shorter periods in USA, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Einar is one of the principal portrait
painters in Iceland. He has painted some of the most influential people of the nation, from politicians to national poets and artists. His work can be found in large numbers in official buildings, for example schools, banks, churches and the Icelandic parliament. Einar has held over 30 solo exhibitions and numerous group exhibitions.
. Einar has held many art workshop
s and seminar
s through his carrier. He held teaching positions in Sweden, Valand School of Fine Arts
(1964–1967), Hovedskou art School (1989–1991) and Domens Art School (2000–2002).
The Art Center produced over 20 exhibitions of paintings and sculptures, together with numerous concerts, theater performances, poetry and book readings. Some of the exhibitions were the most attended in Iceland’s fine art history to date. Einar said ”Finally there is a place for painters and other artists who do not fit into the governmental art, run by its long lasting directors”.
But the pioneering drive could not cope with the loan system of its time, or politics. The Art Center went under after 2 active years.
Einar opened an unusual exhibition in the so-called “Cultural night” in Reykjavík 2005. He put up 600 square meters tents and showed 90 paintings in the city centers park, to demonstrate the exclusion of the painting in the public art centers for the last 20 years. He called the show “In the Grass Root”. What followed is unheard of in the Icelandic art history. 3000 people (1% of the country’s population) attended the exhibition in one day and showed their support in Einar and the Icelandic painting. After this show, Icelandic painters formed a group to push for more democracy in the Public art world. This struggle continues to date.
, cultural site of the Nordic capital cities 1982 - 1992.
Einar Hákonarson lives in Hólmavík
with his wife Solveig Hjalmarsdottir. He works in Reykjavík. (2007)
Figurative art
Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork—particularly paintings and sculptures—which are clearly derived from real object sources, and are therefore by definition representational.-Definition:...
painter who brought the figure back into Icelandic painting in 1968. He is a pioneer in the Icelandic art scene and art education. He has been called “The crusader of the painting”, due to his involvement in those conflicts many Icelandic painters have had with the public fine art centers over the last 20 years.
Early life
Einar was only 15 years old when he was accepted to The National Art School of Iceland. There he received his education for the next 4 years following which he went abroad to Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and to study at Valand School of Fine Arts
Valand School of Fine Arts
The Valand School of Fine Arts , usually called Valand, is a School of Fine Arts in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was founded as the Gothenburg Drawing School in 1865 and has been part of the University of Gothenburg since 1977. The school is situated in central Gothenburg.Approximately 90 students study...
where he received influence from new modes of art and was influenced by figurative painting.
Whilst Einar was still studying in Sweden he won the Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
art prize after an exhibition in the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art is an art museum located directly on the shore of the Øresund Sound in Humlebæk, north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the most visited art museum in Denmark with an extensive permanent collection of modern and contemporary art, dating from World War II and up...
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. He won a prize in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, for his printmaking
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
, and an international printmaking prize in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, for a series of pictures after a trip to the Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
Art
Einar returned to Iceland after his education and held his first solo exhibition in Bogasalur Reykjavík 1968. His show distinguished itself from its Icelandic art scene then current as Einar's paintings were popPop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
, figurative
Figurative art
Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork—particularly paintings and sculptures—which are clearly derived from real object sources, and are therefore by definition representational.-Definition:...
and expressionistic. This exhibition brought the figure back into the Icelandic painting, which had been dominated by the abstract art for years.
Einar has always been consistent in his art and his values. He paints in oil on canvas
Oil on Canvas
Oil on Canvas is a live album by the British band Japan, released in 1983 by Virgin Records. Although it is a live recording of their established material, the album also contains three new studio tracks , recorded separately by Sylvian, Sylvian/Jansen and Barbieri respectively...
but also works with other mediums like printmaking
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
, sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
, enamels
Enamel paint
Enamel paint is paint that air dries to a hard, usually glossy, finish, used for coating surfaces that are outdoors or otherwise subject to hard wear or variations in temperature; it should not be confused with decorated objects in "painted enamel", where vitreous enamel is applied with brushes and...
and mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
. The human in its environment has been a visible thread through his 40 year carrier. Einar claims that he gets more influenced by feeling for nature, rather than by trying to paint a specific part of it.
In his work can be seen different kinds of focus, for example on city life and the modern family unit. He has done a series about The Icelandic sagas, the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
and communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, to name but a few. Religious themes are common in Einar’s art and he frequently makes pictures from the Bible.
In later years Einar’s painting style has become loosed from the strict style at the beginning of his carrier, but without having abandoned a disciplined composition
Composition (visual arts)
In the visual arts – in particular painting, graphic design, photography and sculpture – composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or ingredients in a work of art or a photograph, as distinct from the subject of a work...
. Apart from Iceland, Einar has lived in Sweden (7 years on and off) and for shorter periods in USA, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Einar is one of the principal portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
painters in Iceland. He has painted some of the most influential people of the nation, from politicians to national poets and artists. His work can be found in large numbers in official buildings, for example schools, banks, churches and the Icelandic parliament. Einar has held over 30 solo exhibitions and numerous group exhibitions.
Printmaking
Einar has won international awards for his printmaking. He was the first Icelandic artist to exhibit only printmaking in an art show (1968) and to publish printmaking folders (Icelandic sagas). He was a driving force in founding The Icelandic Printmaking Association in 1969 and its first president. Later Einar founded the printmaking department in The National Art School (MHÍ) when he became its director. Einar has also decorated numerous books with his printmaking.Teaching
Einar was only 21 years old when he started teaching in the National Art School of Iceland. He grew a beard, since he was younger than most of his students, and has kept it ever since. Einar founded an art school in 1970 (Myndsýn) with his colleague Ingiberg Magnússon. Einar was appointed director of The National Art school of Iceland in 1978, then 33 years of age. He founded the department of printmaking and the department of sculpture, which did not exist in Iceland before and reconstructed the department of ceramicsCeramic art
In art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as...
. Einar has held many art workshop
Workshop
A workshop is a room or building which provides both the area and tools that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods...
s and seminar
Seminar
Seminar is, generally, a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some particular subject, in which everyone present is...
s through his carrier. He held teaching positions in Sweden, Valand School of Fine Arts
Valand School of Fine Arts
The Valand School of Fine Arts , usually called Valand, is a School of Fine Arts in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was founded as the Gothenburg Drawing School in 1865 and has been part of the University of Gothenburg since 1977. The school is situated in central Gothenburg.Approximately 90 students study...
(1964–1967), Hovedskou art School (1989–1991) and Domens Art School (2000–2002).
The painters' conflict
In the 1990s, painters in Iceland became discontent with the public exhibition rooms. They felt that the painting was totally left out in the Icelandic art world, and the directors of the National galleries only focused on conceptual art. The painting was even declared dead by some of the country’s art historians. Einar said Icelandic painters had not had a public place to show their work in 20 years. Einar, who previously was the artistic counselor of the City Museum (Kjarvalstadir), became the most energetic spokesman of the Icelandic painting and its right of existence in the Public museums, to this date.The Art Center
In 1997 Einar Hákonarson built, the first private owned cultural center in Iceland. The Art Center (Listaskalinn in Hveragerdi) was a 1000 square meters multi-cultural center, with the main focus on fine art and the art Einar felt was left out in the public art centers.The Art Center produced over 20 exhibitions of paintings and sculptures, together with numerous concerts, theater performances, poetry and book readings. Some of the exhibitions were the most attended in Iceland’s fine art history to date. Einar said ”Finally there is a place for painters and other artists who do not fit into the governmental art, run by its long lasting directors”.
But the pioneering drive could not cope with the loan system of its time, or politics. The Art Center went under after 2 active years.
Loss of the Art Center
The loss of the Art Center was bigger than most people know. Iceland’s biggest art collector Sonja Sorillo wanted to get The Art Center to house 100 of her collected art works, including works of Picasso, Matisse, Bacon, De Kooning and Pollock. That fell through when The Art Center was sold in an auction to The West Nordic Fund. No international art collection exists in Iceland like Mrs. Sorillo's. Her collection was broken up and sold abroad after her death. The Art Center was then sold to The Arnesinga Art Museum (Museum of the region) who had previously declined any collaboration with Hákonarson’s Art Center.The Painters House
Einar lost his home and all of his possessions with the downfall of The Art Center. But he stood up after being knocked down and started The Painters House in 2002, a non profitable exhibition place with co painter Haukur Dor. Later, another painter, Oli G took Dor's place and 19 exhibitions were made in two years.Einar opened an unusual exhibition in the so-called “Cultural night” in Reykjavík 2005. He put up 600 square meters tents and showed 90 paintings in the city centers park, to demonstrate the exclusion of the painting in the public art centers for the last 20 years. He called the show “In the Grass Root”. What followed is unheard of in the Icelandic art history. 3000 people (1% of the country’s population) attended the exhibition in one day and showed their support in Einar and the Icelandic painting. After this show, Icelandic painters formed a group to push for more democracy in the Public art world. This struggle continues to date.
Cultural scene
Einar has held various prominent positions in the Icelandic art world, where he has been active in promoting Icelandic art nationally and internationally. He was the artistic counselor of Kjarvalstadir, The City Gallery of Reykjavík 1987–1988 and a chairman of many exhibition committees. He designed and directed the exhibition of The History of Iceland, on Iceland’s 1100 birthday in 1974. He was a deputy to the mayor in the governing body of the Hässelby SlottHässelby slott
Hässelby Castle is a castle, located in Hässelby gård in the west part of Stockholm Municipality. It is since 2010 owned by SIVAB and it's opened for weddings, parties and conferences.-History:...
, cultural site of the Nordic capital cities 1982 - 1992.
Einar Hákonarson lives in Hólmavík
Hólmavík
Hólmavík is a small town in the western part of Iceland, by Steingrímsfjörður.It is the largest settlement in Strandir and serves as a centre of commerce for the county. Hólmavík is part of the Strandabyggð municipality and has 375 inhabitants...
with his wife Solveig Hjalmarsdottir. He works in Reykjavík. (2007)
Resources
- MorgunblaðiðMorgunblaðiðMorgunblaðið is a newspaper published in Iceland, founded by Vilhjálmur Finsen & Olaf Björnsson, brother to the first president. The first issue, only eight pages long, was published on 2 November 1913. Six years later, in 1919, the corporation Árvakur bought out the company...
19.8 2005 http://www.einarhakonarson.com/media/articles-2000-part2.pdf - MorgunblaðiðMorgunblaðiðMorgunblaðið is a newspaper published in Iceland, founded by Vilhjálmur Finsen & Olaf Björnsson, brother to the first president. The first issue, only eight pages long, was published on 2 November 1913. Six years later, in 1919, the corporation Árvakur bought out the company...
7.6 1966 http://www.einarhakonarson.com/media/articles-60s-part4.pdf - Handels Tindningen 15.12 1966 http://www.einarhakonarson.com/media/articles-60s-part3.pdf
- MorgunblaðiðMorgunblaðiðMorgunblaðið is a newspaper published in Iceland, founded by Vilhjálmur Finsen & Olaf Björnsson, brother to the first president. The first issue, only eight pages long, was published on 2 November 1913. Six years later, in 1919, the corporation Árvakur bought out the company...
http://www.einarhakonarson.com/media/articles-60s-part2.pdf - Visir 23.3 1968 http://www.einarhakonarson.com/media/articles-60s-part1.pdf.
- RÚVRÚVRíkisútvarpið is Iceland's national public-service broadcasting organization.Operating from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional centres around the country, the service broadcasts a variety of general programming to a wide audience across the whole country via radio...
(Icelandic state TV) interviews 1976 http://www.einarhakonarson.com/media.html. - MorgunblaðiðMorgunblaðiðMorgunblaðið is a newspaper published in Iceland, founded by Vilhjálmur Finsen & Olaf Björnsson, brother to the first president. The first issue, only eight pages long, was published on 2 November 1913. Six years later, in 1919, the corporation Árvakur bought out the company...
http://www.einarhakonarson.com/media/articles-80s-part1.pdf - MorgunblaðiðMorgunblaðiðMorgunblaðið is a newspaper published in Iceland, founded by Vilhjálmur Finsen & Olaf Björnsson, brother to the first president. The first issue, only eight pages long, was published on 2 November 1913. Six years later, in 1919, the corporation Árvakur bought out the company...
4.10 2003)http://www.einarhakonarson.com/media/articles-2000-part1.pdf - MorgunblaðiðMorgunblaðiðMorgunblaðið is a newspaper published in Iceland, founded by Vilhjálmur Finsen & Olaf Björnsson, brother to the first president. The first issue, only eight pages long, was published on 2 November 1913. Six years later, in 1919, the corporation Árvakur bought out the company...
17.11 1968 http://www.einarhakonarson.com/media/articles-70s-part4.pdf - The Icelandic Printmakers Association http://www.islenskgrafik.is/page1/page15/page15.html
- MorgunblaðiðMorgunblaðiðMorgunblaðið is a newspaper published in Iceland, founded by Vilhjálmur Finsen & Olaf Björnsson, brother to the first president. The first issue, only eight pages long, was published on 2 November 1913. Six years later, in 1919, the corporation Árvakur bought out the company...
17.9 1978 http://www.einarhakonarson.com/media/articles-70s-part1.pdf - MorgunblaðiðMorgunblaðiðMorgunblaðið is a newspaper published in Iceland, founded by Vilhjálmur Finsen & Olaf Björnsson, brother to the first president. The first issue, only eight pages long, was published on 2 November 1913. Six years later, in 1919, the corporation Árvakur bought out the company...
7.9 2002 http://www.einarhakonarson.com/media/articles-90s-part1.pdf - MorgunblaðiðMorgunblaðiðMorgunblaðið is a newspaper published in Iceland, founded by Vilhjálmur Finsen & Olaf Björnsson, brother to the first president. The first issue, only eight pages long, was published on 2 November 1913. Six years later, in 1919, the corporation Árvakur bought out the company...
19.8 1997 http://www.einarhakonarson.com/media/articles-90s-part3.pdf