Saturday, 11th March at 1 p.m. will Hlynur Helgason, art historian and visual artist, will give a talk in connection with the exhibition Untitled, which features rare abstract works, particularly watercolours, by Eirík Smith (1925-2016) that the artist created in the first half of the 1950s, when Strict Flat Art was establishing itself, both here and elsewhere.

Hlynur will then shed light on the works that Eiríkur Smith exhibited at the renowned Rome Exhibition in 1955, in relation to the turmoil prevailing within the Icelandic art community at that time. Erik himself was not a party to the disputes that arose, but it is interesting to consider the prevailing zeitgeist in the context of his work at the exhibition and the development of his art in the years that followed.

Eirik Smith studied at the Painting and Drawing School of Finn Jónsson and Jóhann Briem in the winter of 1939-1940 and at the School of Handicrafts and Fine Arts from 1946-1948. That same year he went to Copenhagen to study until 1950, and in 1951 he travelled to Paris where he studied fine art at the Académie de la Grande Chaumiére. Works by Eiríkur can be found in various collections, such as the National Gallery of Iceland, the Gerðarsafn and the Reykjavík Art Museum, and in addition, Hafnarborg preserves around 400 works by the artist.

Free admission – all are welcome.