Pocket Utopia’s
pint-sized exhibition space squeezes the most out of an expansive, large-scale
textile painting by Jónsson. Best seen to full advantage with a bit more elbow
room, I was still glad to have the chance to get up close to these “subversive”
works.
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| At Pocket Utopia |
In fact, Austin
Thomas told me that she and Sharon Butler came up with that term during a
discussion of this Icelandic artist’s work.
I think the
idea fits. Jónsson’s pieces could be considered subverting painting not only by
their pale, unbrushed chroma, but also by the craft technique used to fabricate
them. These are not extroverted works. Infused by the Nordic sensibility they
maintain a stoic, static flatness that characterizes a subdued, yet stately presence.
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| From the Tang Museum exhibit. |
They emphasize
a specific physical process of pigmentation and weaving, but contain a
pronounced abstract approach that dissuades notions of conventional landscape
imagery. They also challenge preconceptions of presentation; perhaps employing
a dry bit of wit, since although they are not stretched on bars, they do appear
stretched out. That is key to the artist’s crafty intent; the unique schema
here could only be achieved on a loom.
Yet these
pieces are essentially rooted in the Icelandic landscape. Jónsson’s photos of
the austere north Atlantic scenery serve as templates for the completed works.
The photos share a commonality with Olafur Eliasson’s mystical reveries, and
reveal an intimacy of scale I’d like to see more of in the larger scale
canvases.
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| Photo by Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson |
Perhaps the
artist’s architectural background contributes to the dried out schematics of
her designs, but the blurry, diffuse aesthetic ends up engaging an appealing
metaphor of drifting, intuitive map forms.
This video provides a look at the artist at work:
This video provides a look at the artist at work:
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