Ingálvur av Ren , Interior, Spring, 1947

I had no idea where the Faroe Islands were and fantasized that they were near Tahiti or in New Caledonia but when I received the invitation to visit La Maison du Danemark for the exhibition “Un éclat de soleil, Art from the Faroe Islands”, I realized that they must be much closer… South of Iceland, North West of Scotland and West of Norway, quite up North actually! Which explains why a sparkle of sun might be so precious to its artists… There are fifty words in the Faroe language to define rain and humidity! And for the first exhibition since the art space, Le Bicolore, reopened on top of the Champs Elysées, the curator Kinna Poulsen selected the most colorful artists. Four altogether, figurative and abstract, from three generations. Ingalvur av Reyn, Zacharias Heinesen, Rannvá Kunoy and Hansina Iversen.

The curator Kinna Poulsen in front of Hansina Iversen’s paintings

Kinna Poulsen lives in Tórshavn, the capital,  and was very moving and interesting when she started describing her country of 52 000 inhabitants, which used to belong to Norway until 1814, went to Denmark and is now autonomous like Greenland, and self governed since 1948. It refused to join the EEC. There are 18 islands of basalt lava connected to each other by bridges, tunnels or boats. Temperatures are fairly temperate, 12° in the summer, 5° in the winter, thanks to the Gulf Stream.

Rannva Kunoy, Untitled 2021, Photo Ben Westoby

Only one artist in the show lives outside of Faroe, in London: it is Rannvá Kunoy who is represented by the Saatchi gallery. She is a performer and creates canvases with a special pigment which change color as you move around the painting. It is quite fascinating to experience. I personally liked the very traditional Ingalvur av Reyn, who died in 1985. He paints colorful interiors and village houses which give a good idea of the extraordinary Northern light.

Ingálvur av Reyni, View of Niels Finsensgøta-Ingutrrøõ, 1947

At 85, Zacharias Heinesen admits to having been influenced by Cézanne in his compositions of mountains and colorful houses. He has often traveled to Paris and spent extensive time at the Louvre. He is the senior of the group and has strongly marked the history of Faroan art, after the self taught Niels Kruse and Sámal Joensen, the first Faroe professional painter at the beginning of the 20 th century.  He paints figurative landscapes which slowly become abstract.

Zacharias Heinesen, Ray of Sun, 1989

Hansina Iversen presents two bright abstract paintings where light glitters. The artist paints directly on the canvas without any preparatory sketches the different layers of paint give the painting an undulating aspect.

Zacharias Heinesen, photo Jan Andersson

Until March 13 at the Danish art center “Le Bicolore” which is open every day except Monday, from 12 to 6 pm and entrance is free. It is the perfect cultural moment before going to lunch or dinner at Flora Danica, downstairs, one of the most enchanting restaurants in Paris. 142 ave des Champs Elysées.