Beginning today, the Nordic Heritage Museum and Westlake Park will be hosting exhibitions featuring Icelandic sculptor Steinunn Thórarinsdóttir. Her installation at Westlake Park includes 26 life-size androgynous human figure sculptures, 13 made using aluminum and 13 made of cast iron. Her exhibition at the museum is called “Borders,” and will feature smaller figures by Thórarinsdóttir and photographs of the exhibition when New York City hosted “Borders” in 2011.
Steinunn Thórarinsdóttir, Vision II, 2005, cast iron and glass. Photo: Arnaldur Halldorsson.
There will be an opening ceremony at Westlake Park at 5 p.m., where Ambassador of Iceland to the United States Gudmundur Árni Stefánsson, Deputy Mayor of Seattle Darryl Smith, and Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen will be among the guests. The festivities will then move to the Nordic Heritage Museum with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m.
From the Nordic Heritage Museum:
With her life-size sculptures, Thórarinsdóttir seeks to bring a significant and striking artistic experience to the daily lives of Seattle citizens and visitors. The figures will stand dispersed around the park and seated on park benches, mirroring each other in silent conversation and form unseen borders that visitors are welcome to cross – serving as ambassadors between sculptures.
The exhibition addresses humanity and cultural diversity, an appropriate theme for one of the most culturally and politically active sites in Seattle. Borders will connect many diverse constituencies to new artistic experiences, foster conversation, and provide a unique backdrop for daily events at this public space.
