News and Events
Oli G. Johannsson´s Solo Exhibition in Opera Gallery, New York
1-4 May
Opera Gallery discovered Oli G. JOHANNSSON in 2006 and first presents his works at Opera Gallery London in an exhibition supported by Sverrir Haukur GUNNLAUGSSON, the Icelandic ambassador in England. Success was such that the entire exhibition was sold during the few hours of the opening.
Since then, every year Opera Gallery celebrates spring by showcasing Oli’s latest creations in one or more of our different locations: London in 2007, New-York and Singapore in 2008, and 2009 in one of the new Opera Gallery spaces: Dubai, Monaco or Geneva.
This exhibition is a testimony of the faithful and deep friendship that link Opera Gallery to Oli G. JOHANNSSON.
Oli comes from Iceland, a country where nature is omnipresent and population minimal: it is a 103,000 km²island of which 60% is wasteland: volcanoes, geysers, sand fields, glaciers, glacial rivers and fjords? Oli ‘s works are deeply influenced by these natural and geographical characteristics which have been surrounding him since birth. The colors, techniques and themes that the artist chooses are always referenced to them.
Oli’s paintings are definitively inseparable from Iceland and its natural environment.
“Óli G. Jóhannsson is a passionate painter whose work is in the field of abstraction. This is a rare passion nowadays and accounts for the clear advantage he has gained in his art. Óli G. has no formal training in art but has nonetheless succeeded in his work and no one can doubt his painterly talent. Formal training can be important and help artists to express their views and visions but only talent and perseverance, combined with strong ambition, can lead to enduring results. The art of Óli G. grows out of the long development in painting that I have discussed here; these developments shape and fuel his understanding and are reflected in his work. We, the audience, can then enjoy the fruits – transmuted by the artist, as is the case with all good art. Óli´s garden brings a new and varied crop each season that reflects the climactic changes in the artist´s own character and the varying influences he encounters”.
Hannes Sigurðsson Director Akureyri Art Museum, Iceland
“Being a talented artist, collected by the most important art lovers and staying affordable at the same time is a skill that very few artists have, but that Oli G. JOHANNSSON has definitely. When I met him in 2006, it was love at the first sight. I immediately decide to go in Iceland and share his life there for few days. I really trust that Oli’s is one of the best abstract artists of the moment. More than advising my collectors to bet on him, I personally collect him.”
Jean David Malat Director Opera Gallery, London
“Jóhannsson believes in the “truthfulness” of the gesture. His desire is to put into his paintings as much of his experiences and ideas as they can bear, and his conviction is that painting still has something of importance to tell us about human existence, our inner lives and our relationship with nature. Jóhannsson told me few years ago: “Sometimes I don’t really know what I’m going to do when I begin a painting, but rely on my brush to carry me along... I only know that if I follow my instinct, the painting will turn out well in the end... I don’t have any concrete theories about painting. I am probably just as surprised by what happens on the canvas as you... No two paintings evolve in the same way.” Aðalsteinn Ingólfsson Art Criticer, Reykjavík, Iceland.
The exhibition is strictly held from the 1st to the 4th of May 2008 at Opera Gallery New York. The very best of Oli’s recent works, around 30 large scales pieces, have been selected directly from the artist studio in Akureyri, Iceland.
2008: Opera Gallery New-York Opera Gallery Singapore Festarklettur-Listhus, Akureyri
2007: Opera Gallery London Studio Stafna, Reykjavik
2006: Gallery Turpintine, Reykjavik Gallery 60, Austria
2005: Karólína, Akureyri, Iceland Sólon, Reykjavík, Iceland
2004: Take out, Friðrik V, Iceland and Mumbla, India Hillebrantshús, Blönduós, Iceland Ketilhúsið, Akureyri, Iceland Linsan, Reykjavík, Iceland Friðrik V, Akureyri, Iceland Mubla, Kópavogur, Iceland
2003: Hús málaranna, Seltjarnarnesi, Iceland Ketilhúsið, Akureyri, Iceland
2002: Hús málaranna, Seltjarnarnesi, Iceland Linsan, Reykjavík, Iceland Kunstmesse Herning, Denmark Galleri Torso, Odense Denmark
2001: Oli, "Artist of Akureyri town" Galleri Reykjavík, Iceland Art Museum, Akureyri, Iceland Galleri Torso, Odense, Denmark
2000: Galleri Torso, Odense, Denmark Copenhagen Art 2000, Forum, Denmark Galleri Maríus Vrontos, Copenhagen, Denmark
Founded in 1995, OPERA GALLERY is a unique concept, as it is the first and only gallery to have created a network of galleries:
-8 international platforms all over the world: London, Paris, New York, Singapore, Seoul, Hong Kong, Miami, and Venice
-3 openings in 2008: Monaco, Dubai and Geneva
-100 artists represented
-150 years covered: from the XIXth century to today
-All mediums represented: paintings, sculpture, photography, video, installation?
-10 000 collectors worldwide
Opera Gallery is a label of art: a guarantee for the public to find the same selection of artists, the same quality of pieces and expert teams in 8 different locations, within 3 different continents. Nowadays people are always traveling. Opera Gallery reflects this lifestyle of the collector of the XXIth century.
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Press contact
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