The exhibition Geiri – Open House is an open research lab at Skaftfell Art Center, where visitors are welcomed in to share stories and objects related to the outsider artist Ásgeir Emilsson.
We welcome all to the opening on Saturday 7th of March at Skaftfell from 4-6pm.
Introduction to the project by curator and project manager Gunnhildur Hauksdóttir
This initiative marks the beginning of necessary restoration work on Geirahús and aims to build a broader understanding of Geiri’s contribution to Icelandic cultural history.
A strategy for the preservation of Geiri’s House will be prepared, and an open call made to the people of Seyðisfjörður and the larger academic community for stories, data, and objects related to Geiri’s work and his context as an Icelandic folk and outsider artist.
It is a true treasure to have such a complete picture of this beloved artist. His house on Oddagata, is a precious but fragile monument to an Icelandic folk and outsider artist – decorated inside and out with colourful paintings of pin-up girls, waterfalls, and ships. The house has been kept unchanged since Geiri departed; his workspace, materials, his lamp, and magnifying glass are still in their place.
The time has now come that Geiri’s House needs renovation, and so Skaftfell, in collaboration with the Technical Museum of East Iceland and Safnasafnið – The Icelandic Folk and Outsider Art Museum, with support from the Icelandic Museum Council, is launching an initiative for his legacy. Many homes of Icelandic folk and outsider artists have been lost over time, and few remain intact in Iceland. The house of Samúel Jónsson in Selárdalur is a good example of such a legacy that has been successfully preserved, as is the house of Nonni in Akureyri. But there are other examples of houses that have been lost, such as those of Óskar Magnússon and Blómey Stefánsson, which they built themselves, first in Reykjavík, which they called Kastali (The Castle), and later Hellisheiði heath, where they lived and worked on weaving. The house of painter and poet Gunnþórunn Sveinsdóttir in Sauðárkrókur, which she built herself, painted every surface, and ran a shop there. That house sadly burned down, but many of her works are preserved in the ASÍ Art Collection and the Sauðárkrókur Museum House.
