The exhibition GERÐUR will focus on Gerður Helgadóttir‘s iron sculptures from the 50’s. Gerður was the first Icelandic aritst to use iron in her artwork and was pioneer of three-dimensional abstract art in Iceland. The exhibition is an extention of the exhibiton GERÐUR: retrospective, held in 2018. Gerður’s creativity and experimental nature is a motif within the museum and reflects it‘s unique position of being the only museum founded in honor of a female artist.
Gerður Helgadóttir (1928–1975) was a versatile and prolific Icelandic artist. Gerður was a pioneer of abstract sculpture in Iceland and created works in stained glass and mosaic. The exhibition presents sculptures and sketches for outdoor works from 1965-1975.
In 1966, Gerður fulfils a lifelong desire to see the relief carvings and temples of Egypt. Upon her return, she decides that sculpture will now be her main focus. Her works from the period are variations on simple, circular forms done in terracotta or plaster. Her sculptures contain a strong feeling for movement as well as the dynamic between mass and space. Gerður thinks of them as both smaller scale sculptures and as sketches for larger outdoor sculptures.
Gerður creates many public works in the early 1970s. In 1972, Gerður works on a proposal for a mosaic mural for the headquarters of the Directorate of Customs in Reykjavík, which is unveiled the following year.
I calculated the area of all the proposals I worked on in 1972 and it added up to more than 3000 square meters.
– Gerður in a letter to her brother, Snorri Helgason
Gerður was both a productive and versatile artist. She was awarded the Order of the Falcon by the President of Iceland in 1974 for her contribution to Icelandic art. Her works are continuously evolving throughout her carrier, often shaped by her various interests. Powerful works and proposals for public space mark the beginning of a new period in Gerður’s artistic practice. They give insight into her ambition and prove the artist had still much left undone. Even though Gerður passed before her fiftieth, she has gained a place among the most important 20th Century sculptors in Icelandic art history.
Gerður Helgadóttir (1928–1975) was a versatile and prolific Icelandic artist. She studied in The Icelandic College of Art and Crafts and continued her education in Florence and then Paris, where she lived most of her life.
Gerður was both a productive artist whose work evolved continuously throughout her carrier, often shaped by her various interests. She passed away beyond her years at only 47 years of age. Even though Gerður had still much left undone, she had already gained a place among the most important 20th Century sculptors in Icelandic art history.
