V1 Gallery is pleased to present:
What I Gather
A solo exhibition by Loji Höskuldsson
OPENING RECEPTION: FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17. 2023. TIME: 16.00 - 21.00
EXHIBITION PERIOD: NOVEMBER 18 – JANUARY 13. 2024
Please note: The galleries will be closed for winter holidays from December 24.12.23 and reopen January 02.01.24
What I Gather presents Loji’s Höskuldsson’s embroidered reflections and meditations on the intricate relationship between self, society and culture. The works in the exhibition engage themes of national identity, soft spoken cultural cliches and stereotypes, alternative national icons, familial roots and self-understanding. Approaching the topics with a wonderfully personal and empirical methodology, a fragmented type of Knolling, Höskuldsson offers novel perspectives.
“The title refers to the two things; the fact that I’m gathering things that I feel are connected to Denmark whether it’s a figment of my imagination, Icelandic stereotypes of what Denmark is or the actual truth. It also refers to the fact that these are only speculations that I presume I know about Denmark.”
- Loji Höskuldsson
Höskuldsson’s process is excruciating slow, days and months, stich by stich, small (20 x 25 cm) and large-scale (170 x 300 cm) compositions appear on burlap, giving him ample time to reflect on the subject matter at hand. This meditative creative process is embedded in the final work, encouraging an intuitive contemplative response from the viewer. Slowing our cognitive response to the work and leaving space for a more tactile relationship and reading. It’s a form of story telling founded in a craft tradition, but harnessed to explore current issues. A kind of Dogme approach to making contemporary art.
“I enjoy when my work sparks a narrative for my viewers. Embroidery helps with the storytelling, as I think many people connect embroidery to stories. These pieces are my connections or memories to Denmark. Someone else might have a different connection, but I tried to be true to what felt personal to me. For example, the work “Royal Coincidence” is an homage to my grandmother, Margrét, who loved the Danish royal family. On top of having the same name as the queen, she read all the Danish tabloid magazines where the topic were often Queen Margrethe’s smoking habits.”
- Loji Höskuldsson
In a broader perspective, Höskuldsson’s works and practice offer an alternative approach to engaging in our current times. It encourages an unhurried process and narrative, leaving space and pace for humanity to be absorbed and reflected in the work. The art of storytelling that makes our species unique.
Loji Höskuldsson (b. 1987, Iceland) lives and works in Reykjavík. His recent solo and duo exhibitions include Toast, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki, Finland, 2022 (with Karoliina Hellberg), Two Pots of Milk, Alþýðuhúsið, Siglufjörður, Iceland, 2022, Sveitin mín, Safnasafnið, Svalbarðseyri, Iceland, 2021 and Súper lókal, Hverfisgallerí, Reykjavík, Iceland, 2019. Höskuldsson has participated in several group exhibitions with V1 Gallery, What I Gather is his first solo exhibition with the gallery.
