Nordic NYC

A December business trip to NYC was filled with good food, art, the company of friends and a long walk along the new stretch of the High Line at sunset. But no visit to NYC is complete without a few detours in search of scandilicious treats and a stop at the Scandinavia House. The highlights? Tasty smørrebrød and gløgg at Copenhagen (cozy and bright at dusk on a dark and chilly day), a smorgasbord tasting plate at Smørgås (in a dining room with a large birch tree installation) and the exhibit Iceland: Artists Respond to Place.

The exhibit, a chance for viewers to experience the landscape of Iceland through video, painting, photography, sculpture and site-specific wall installations. Artwork that tells the stories of a hostile and majestic environment. Rivers, volcanoes, ice caps and waterfalls featured in a diverse range of mediums, across the seasons of extreme light and dark. A striking site-specific lava rock installation by Ragna Róbertsdóttir, covered a large space on the gallery wall, an application of small stone granules within a precise rectangular frame, spectacular when viewed both from a distance and close up. Other work included the Skjol/Shelters photography series by Einar Falur Ingólfsson, the paint-encrusted, detailed work of delicate, brightly colored flora by Eggert Pétursson, Guðjón Ketilsson’s Stigar/Paths (a wall drawing/text map of ancient, beautiful letters of the artist’s meanderings through Reykjavik), Þórdís Alda Sigurðardóttir’s brew of found objects, and the Olafur Eliasson Aerial River Series, 2000, a series of 42 spectacular prints.

Iceland: Artists Respond to Place features the work of Birgir Andrésson, Guðrún Einarsdóttir, Olafur Eliasson, Georg Guðni Hauksson, Einar Falur Ingólfsson, Guðjón Ketilsson, Eggert Pétursson, Ragna Róbertsdóttir, Egill Sæbjörnsson, Katrín Sigurðardóttir, and Þórdís Alda Sigurðardóttir. Last week! Last Chance! Through Saturday, January 10, 2015. Free admission.