North Atlantic art

Cultural fellowship

In terms of population, the Faroe Islands and Iceland are small countries with the common characteristic that the strength and greatness of their artistic tradition is belied by the number of inhabitants. Both nations enjoy expansive views and dramatic scenery, and the long-standing cultural ties with Denmark mean that the pictorial art of the two countries occupies a central place in the awareness of many Danes as an outstanding depiction of nature and colour lyric. The artists we’re presenting at the themed auction therefore all have links to the North Atlantic, although their imagery and themes vary greatly.

Ballads, lays and chain dance

Faroese artist William Heinesen was born at a time when stories were still told by candlelight. His imagery therefore revolves around a fabled and mythological universe where witches, the hulder people and other subterranean creatures populate the surface of the painting.

The fjord, the mountains and the villages

Unlike Heinesen’s fabulous universe, it is the contrasting Faroese landscape that has been captured by contemporary artists Øssur Mohr, Amariel Nordoy and Finnleif Mortensen. The wide open spaces, the peculiarities of nature, the fleeting light and the switching of colours between warm and cold are focal points for these three Faroese artists.

Both classic and modern Faroese and Icelandic works will be up for auction, as well as a couple of individual works by Svend Åge Madsen, Jack Kampmann and Albert Bertelsen, who regularly visited and worked in the northern countries over the years.

Preview and auction

The themed auction ends from 7 pm on Tuesday 20 November. There is a preview at our department at Sundkrogsgade 30 in Copenhagen’s Nordhavn from Friday 9 November.