Icelandic museums receive over thirty works from Dutch-Icelandic artist

Dutch-Icelandic artist Kees Visser has gifted more than thirty of his artworks to six Icelandic art museums, celebrating the 50th anniversary of his initial visit to the country. The significant donation was received this week by the National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik Art Museum, University of Iceland Art Museum, ASÍ Art Museum, The Living Art Museum, and the Safnasafnið.

This generous contribution is considered a vital addition to the collections of Icelandic art institutions. It further strengthens the preservation and dissemination of works by an artist who has been an active participant in the Icelandic art community for many years. Visser, born in the Netherlands in 1948, has had a long and successful career, dividing his time between Haarlem and Reykjavík.

Visser expressed that Iceland has profoundly impacted him over the years, and through this donation, he wishes to convey his gratitude to the Icelandic art scene. He specifically highlighted the importance of the positive reception his work received in Iceland during the early stages of his career.

His connection to Iceland began in Amsterdam, where he met Icelandic artists. He first visited Iceland in 1976 and has maintained a strong presence there ever since, splitting his time between Reykjavík, Amsterdam, and Paris. Upon arriving in Iceland, he joined a community of young, progressive artists influenced by Fluxus and conceptual art. Visser was a co-founder of The Living Art Museum in 1978 and has participated in numerous exhibitions there. His artistic journey in Iceland exposed him to many leading European and American artists, contributing to the vibrant local art scene.

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Ísland hefur gefið honum mikið í gegnum tíðina og með gjöfinni vill hann færa íslensku listalífi þakklætisvott. Hann nefnir sérstaklega hversu miklu máli það skipti í upphafi ferilsins þegar verk hans fengu jákvæðar undirtektir hér á landi.