Of Various Kinds is a research project by two women on their own creative processes and positions in society as creative women compared to their foremothers. The exhibition is an ode to Gerður Helgadóttir, a pioneer and remarkable woman, whose name Gerðarsafn bears. We use her works as templates or scaffolding. We fill the negative spaces in her delicate metal sculptures with our own imagery and materials. The works incorporate references to Ásgerður Búadóttir, Eyborg Guðmundsdóttir, and Nína Tryggvadóttir. We specifically look at Ásgerður’s work Seven Lives, where she commemorates female artists, including Eyborg and Nína, her colleagues who passed away prematurely. Our material choices reflect these predecessors: Jóhanna works with stained glass as Gerður did extensively, and Ásgerður Heimisdóttir works with textiles and found objects, like her namesake Búadóttir. Among the glass, there are glimpses of polished stones, which come from the rock collection of Gyða Jónsdóttir, Jóhanna’s grandmother. Gyða was also a glass artist who died prematurely, intending to use these stones in her glass works. We thought about our foremothers and motherhood, being relatively new mothers ourselves. Ásgerður Búadóttir had three children. Ásgerður’s descendants are now working to document her works and exhibition history and share this process on social media. It is noted in Gerður’s biography that she chose not to have children, believing that motherhood was incompatible with the life of an artist. We are now trying to navigate this balancing act, which we are told is within reach for the Icelandic superwoman: cultivating the self, career, and family life in perfect harmony. Regardless, we both felt the need to ground ourselves and get to know ourselves anew after having sacrificed body and soul to our beloved children, emerging from maternity leave thirsty to create.
Jóa and Ása have been friends for 20 years. From their first encounter at the Reykjavik School of Visual Arts, their lives have intertwined.
Jóhanna Ásgeirsdóttir (1993) is an artist and teacher. She works with installations, experiences, and sculptures inspired by natural sciences and environmental issues. She holds a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from New York University and a master’s degree in art education from the Iceland University of the Arts. She has participated in and curated art exhibitions in Iceland, Berlin, and New York. She currently works as the artistic director of the art festival List án landamæra, as a teacher at the Reykjavik School of Visual Arts, and on various creative projects.
Ásgerður Heimisdóttir (1993) is a textile artist and designer. Ása works with words, text, knitting, weaving, collage, and drawing. She has studied in the textile department of the Reykjavik School of Visual Arts and in product design at the Iceland University of the Arts. She is on the editorial board of the online publication Vía and the art market Uppskera. She currently works as a project manager at As We Grow, as well as leading art workshops in museums and engaging in other creative projects.
Exhibition venue: Gerðarsafn.
August 29-September 5, 2024.
