Stux Gallery is pleased to present a fourth solo show of new paintings by
Thordis Adalsteinsdottir. The Icelandic-born, New York-based artist’s new body of
paintings offers to viewers another glimpse into her idiosyncratic inner landscapes
of otherworlds. In these dreamlike scenes, cohabited by animals and people, strange
interactions occur that question the traditional logic and expectations of
viewing. The bold abundance of vivid color in her new paintings is not to be read as
joyous celebration of life à la Matisse. The color as used in these images is far more
ambivalent in its signification: it offers respite from cryptic narratives and a call for
viewers’ delectation of beautiful patterns, which are Adalsteinsdottir’s signature
pictorial element.
Although not overtly feminist, Adalsteinsdottir’s images of circuitry and
sexual geography of the body correspond to self-knowledge achieved through
feminine writing (écriture féminine). These themes in an oblique way imply cycles
of life, death, and rebirth through an iconography of human and fairy-tale animal
imagery. The artist does not use iconic animals and fairy tales because she does not
assume the whole traditional narrative of gender as a premise. Often in her
depictions animals are human personified only to stress the ambivalence toward
gender stereotypes. While melancholy prevails, strange signals of large surfaces of
vivid colors and beautiful patterns indicate a redemptive dimension – indeed,
happiness can occur, even if not yet. Adalsteinsdottir’s scenes are like frozen
moments from dreams and nightmares equally fantastical, absurd, and deadpan.
Sometimes the animals wear fishnet stockings; sometimes they are carrying razors;
sometimes they are just there to comfort the humans. Without them, human sadness
would be unbearable to behold.