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SHOW TITLE: SECOND/SECOND
ARTIST: Finnbogi Pétursson
CURATOR: Murray Horne

Wood Street Galleries welcomes the return of Iceland’s Finnbogi Pétursson in SECOND/SECOND, his first solo exhibition in the USA. The Icelandic landscape can be described as mesmerizing, contemplative and hypnotic; these often intangible qualities are also embodied in Pétursson’s sound-modulated water installations. As the artist states: “I am always trying to capture phenomena such as sound, water, fire, shadow and light, and channel them along new grooves, turn them into something other than what they are. These are phenomena that you feel and think about, but never see.”

The exhibition is on view September 26–December 31, 2014, at the Trust’s Wood Street Galleries. An opening reception takes place Friday, September 26, 2014, from 5:30 to 9 p.m., during the Trust’s quarterly and 10th annual Gallery Crawl throughout the Cultural District.

The exhibition includes light and sounds installations, including the recent works Tesla Tune (2014) and Infra – Supra (2014).

Tesla Tune (2014)

Tesla Tune (2014) is dedicated to the inventor Nikola Tesla. The installation emits sound that comes from an alternating current transformer, which is lead through a programmer (time-adjusted frequency equaliser and switch box) to channel the sound through eight different outputs—pipes. These eight pipes of different lengths hang from the galley’s ceiling, producing what seem to be different sounds, but the frequency is always the same, 60 Hz. The lengths of the pipes affect the pitch.

Infra – Supra (2014)

As in his previous water-works, the artist uses three sine waves to create circular patterns on the surface of a large pool build in the entire first floor of Wood Street gallery. “Spotlights show the water reflection from a different angle in one large image on an opposite wall. The ripples travel across the water surface; they disappear for a while then appear bit later mixed with the ripples coming from the opposite direction. Together they break up the calm water surface in to negative/positive sinus ripples vibrating below and above the zero line creating infra-supra.” – Finnbogi Pétursson

Finnbogi Pétursson, born in Reykjavík, Iceland, has been exhibiting since 1980 and is one of Iceland’s most prominent light and sound artists. He is known for works that fuse sound, light, sculpture, architecture, and drawings. Sound—a crucial element—is typically incorporated into spare sculptural installations. Pétursson represented Iceland at the Venice Biennial in 2001 with his monumental sound installation Diabolus. His artworks are held in numerous private collections as well as at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna, Austria, and the National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland. Permanent installations are at Landsvirkjun, Vatnsfellsvirkjun (an electric power plant) Reykjavík University, and the Reykjavík Energy Headquarters. Finnbogi lives and works in Reykjavík, Iceland.

Photo by Joey Kennedy