GROUP PORTRAIT OF THE SELF  — Hallgrímur Helgason

10 Feb—26 May 2024

In the exhibition Group Portrait of the Self, Icelandic painter Hallgrímur Helgason shows a series of works that put a new spin on the classic self-portrait.

For the past three years, Helgason has worked with the self-portrait as a way of portraying the many different voices or characters we may all find our minds populated by these days. There are people talking in there, and they do not always agree.

Here they stand side by side: the slow one, the brave one, the creative one, the livid one, the one who would rather have stayed in bed. Each portrait contains between six and sixteen figures, brought together like rock bands assembled by the brain’s crossed wires. Hallgrímur Helgason’s style is energetic, overwhelming, eclectic, fantastical, satirical and quite literally colourful.

The second half of the exhibition consists of works on paper from the 4Faced series. These fierce, imaginary portraits all contain four faces, visualising the multi-communicating human being that present-day society seems to demand. As Helgason himself puts it, it takes eight eyes to function in today’s world.

Hallgrímur Helgason (b. 1959) is perhaps best known in Denmark as a much-loved writer (60 Kilos of Sunshine being the latest published in Danish in 2021). But he began his artistic career as a visual artist and has maintained an active dual practice throughout. Focusing on new paintings and works on paper, the exhibition at the North Atlantic House is the first major presentation of Helgason in Denmark.

The exhibition is generously supported by the Augustinus Foundation, the Danish Arts Foundation, the Foundation for Danish-Icelandic Cooperation and the Embassy of Iceland in Copenhagen

Photo: Detail of Sixfold Self Portrait with the Ghost of Laxness, 2022