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WILLIAM ANTHONY (USA)
GUNNAR ÖRN (IS)

Stalke Gallery is proud, for the third time, to present a major exhibition featuring new works by the American artist William Anthony.

Since the mid-1960s, William Anthony’s bizarre line-drawing universe has achieved cult status among such prominent figures as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein (according to Warhol himself, Anthony's illustration of the Bible was the only Bible Warhol could understand). And one can understand why. Its satirical depictions of human folly, war, mythology from the Wild West, and humorous "copies" of modernist masterpieces have an unmistakable, surreal charm. The iconography shines clearly through, showing that it is pop. But it is also sub: the subconscious of pop art. A machine distorting and reshaping images.

At the exhibition, several works created in collaboration between William Anthony and the Danish artist Anne Bennike will also be shown.

LINK TO A MEMORY

Gunnar Örn from Iceland has been associated with the gallery since the mid-1990s and is presenting at this exhibition a wall installation titled “Link to a Memory.” Gunnar Örn, who has just turned 60, has developed a painting style that has always moved in many directions, from a physical inner landscape that reflects the echoes of the mind to works directly inspired by the Icelandic nature.

Gunnar Örn previously exhibited his own works as part of the curated exhibition “Iceland in Denmark” in 2003 in Kirke Sonnerup, where Olafur Eliasson, Gudmundur Ingolfsson, Ragnar Kjartansson, among others, participated.

Article:

Role Model and Cult in Kr. Sonnerup

A Role Model and a Cult Figure Opens His Exhibition at Gallery Kirke Sonnerup on Saturday

Kirke Sonnerup:

Two incomparable artists, whose works are being presented by Sam Jedig at his gallery in Kirke Sonnerup this coming weekend.

"It’s a bit of a scoop to have them both here at the same time," says Sam Jedig.

One of the artists, 74-year-old William Anthony from the USA, is known for his bizarre line drawings, which he has been developing since the 1960s after teaching new, young artists.

"He has achieved cult status among such prominent artists as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. According to Warhol, he only understood Anthony's illustrations of the Bible," says Sam Jedig.

The stylishly eccentric artist himself explains with a big smile that he found his technique by taking the worst drawings his students created and from there developing distinctive drawing-figure art in a peculiar style.

One of these works portrays Andy Warhol at the end of a bridge with Edvard Munch’s The Scream screaming at him from behind.

"Andy is everyone, and everyone is Andy," says William Anthony with a glint in his eye.

His satire shines through in everything he does, even when depicting Hitler, the Wild West, or war scenarios.

"His art is both pop and sub-pop, the subconscious of pop art. A machine that distorts and reshapes images," explains Sam Jedig.

Anthony is exhibiting at Sam Jedig’s gallery for the third time but for the first time in Kirke Sonnerup. Previously, his works have only been exhibited at Stalke Gallery in Copenhagen.

Installation
The other exhibitor is also very well known to Sam Jedig, as it is his role model and friend from Iceland, Gunnar Örn.

He has been associated with the Danish gallery since the mid-1990s and this time presents a wall installation titled Link to a Memory.

In celebration of his 60th birthday, he has created an installation that showcases both his art and his development as an artist, incorporating painting, photography, and drawings.

"I have been painting for 40 years and am showing links to my artistic memory through the many years. In the photographs, I show my world and background. After all, I live on a farm at the foot of one of the largest volcanoes in Iceland – 100 kilometers east of Reykjavik," says Gunnar Örn.

Photo Sketches
He has photographed extensively over many years and was even employed as a photographer for Dagbladet in Reykjavik for a year in the late 1980s. While his technique has evolved, he often carries his camera as a constant companion on trips through Iceland’s wild nature.

"A photo can serve as a sketch of a place, which I can then bring home and further develop into a painting," explains the Icelandic artist.

The exhibition also includes unique photos of colorful elements in various forms.

"I once worked on projects about the inner self through meditation. The idea was to think of nothing and only experience light. But I don’t do that anymore. Now I look out at the world," smiles Gunnar Örn.

He has also exhibited several times with Sam Jedig and was a curator for the exhibition Iceland in Denmark in 2003 in Kirke Sonnerup, where Olafur Eliasson, Gudmundur Ingolfsson, Ragnar Kjartansson, and others participated.

The opening of the exhibition will take place at Englerupvej 62 in Kirke Sonnerup on Saturday from 1 PM to 6 PM, after which it can be viewed until October 13. The gallery is open by appointment

Riv

Dagbladet 16.8.2007

American Irony and Icelandic Seriousnes

Gallery Stalke in Kirke Sonnerup has curated a noteworthy exhibition featuring the American artist William Anthony and the Icelandic artist Gunnar Örn.

In a way, Stalke Gallery is presenting two very different artists: the American satirist and ironist William Anthony and the Icelandic Gunnar Örn. However, the two artists share the fact that they have both previously exhibited at the gallery, and perhaps they also share a common humanistic approach to life and art.

Gunnar Örn has previously taken inspiration from the Icelandic landscape in his works, which can be seen as his personal psychological reflections on his encounters with nature. However, a number of paintings featuring portraits or faces can remind one of Picasso and are among his most notable contributions to the exhibition.

Gunnar Örn has also previously curated exhibitions of Icelandic art at Stalke Gallery, as well as at galleries in Iceland.

William Anthony immediately evokes thoughts of Saul Steinberg. This might not be entirely justified, but his works can certainly be interpreted as part of the American tradition of cartoonists. Yet, Anthony’s playful depictions of Adam and Eve (Andy Warhol was also notably interested in biblical narratives), and references to pop culture icons such as the Dalton brothers, Hitler, and others, introduce a forgiving irony.

Anthony freely fabricates and adds ironic twists to all subjects, from biblical figures like Adam and Eve to the Second World War. In one work, Hitler is depicted apologizing in a drawing, a piece considered one of the best in the exhibition. Even Hitler’s life and the way he and Eva Braun died are touched upon in Anthony’s playful, reflective art. While his work mocks narcissism and explores self-perception, it does so with a conciliatory sense of irony.

One might not always understand why Anthony’s works are so entertaining—perhaps because he plays with concepts and motives, testing what happens when they’re brought into play. Or perhaps because we recognize fragments of ourselves and our desires in his works.

Andreas Hansen

Kunstavisen

Gunnar Örn

Back gallery

William Anthony

Front and center gallery