artist
Eggert Pétursson
- Born
- Iceland
Eggert Pétursson studied at the Icelandic College of Art and Crafts, Reykjavik 1976–79 and then at the Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht, the Netherlands, where he graduated in 1981. He has become famous for his unique way of depicting the Icelandic flora, but considers himself neither a landscape nor flower painter. Pétursson’s artistic background is instead found in Fluxus and conceptual art, the dominant movements of the 60s and 70s. With deep knowledge of both botany and the craft of painting, Pétursson broke down the plant motifs into separate components. Repeating each petal, stem and stalk, he then created dizzying patterns that resemble the abstract. In contrast to the oil paintings, his watercolours are fragile and breathe a different kind of tenderness.