Valgerður Briem (1914–2002) was an artist, teacher and pioneer in the field of art education. Her life’s work developed through the interplay between her own artistic practice and her teaching, with form, colour, material and visual thinking at its core. Valgerður first exhibited publicly as an artist at the Autumn Exhibition of the Association of Icelandic Artists in 1980, at the age of sixty-six. Behind that moment lay decades of sustained work: drawings, watercolours, wax works, sketches, lettering and patterns. When Valgerður’s family donated approximately 1,640 works on paper to Gerðarsafn in 2006, the true scope of her life’s work became fully visible for the first time.
Teaching was an independent and essential part of Valgerður’s life’s work, and her influence continued through the many students she guided. It is a legacy that does not manifest itself in a shared style, but in divergent paths and working methods, and in the courage to trust one’s own vision. In the exhibition works by artists she influenced can be seen alongside her artworks:
Birgir Andrésson
Erró
Kristín Jónsdóttir from Munkaþverá
Sigríður Björnsdóttir
Örn Þorsteinsson
Gerðarsafn received a two-year research grant from the Icelandic Museum Fund to undertake the first comprehensive study of Valgerður Briem’s life and work, lead by Cecilie Gaihede. The project combines art-historical research into her artistic practice with its presentation through an exhibition and publication, Myndvit – The Legacy of Valgerður comprised of scholarly essays addressing Valgerður’s art, teaching and approach.
