artist
Helgi Þorgils Friðjónsson
- Iceland, 1953
Helgi Þorgils Friðjónsson studied at Iceland’s art school from 1971–1976, and then at art schools in The Hague and Maastricht in the Netherlands. He made his debut as a painter in 1979 with narrative images. In the 1980s, his painting and graphics evolved in an increasingly metaphysical direction. Mythological motifs were blended with the artist’s fantasies. Friðjónsson’s art from this period is grounded in the subjective and romantic conceptual art of the previous decade. It also has clear surrealist undertones. Contrasting visual worlds were combined. Thus, a camel smokes a cigar and centaurs toast with champagne in Friðjónsson’s humorous, yet charged images. Fairy tale beings are encased in a modern world. Helgi Þorgils Friðjónsson’s art has taken a new turn in recent years. His works clearly allude to the central theme of the Baroque period, the Italian Renaissance and the romantic movement: humankind’s complex relationship with nature.
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