Faroese Art

Faroese art is art by artists living in the Faroe Islands and art by Faroese nationals living abroad. In the Faroe Islands art is an important part of everyday life and in the public debate. It may be the special light in the Faroes which causes so many to express themselves in painting. The everchanging Faroese weather and light, provides opportunities for endless nuances. Something which has fascinated both foreign and local artists over the years. However, the history of Faroese art is short, and can only be dated a couple of hundred years back. Lack of time, light and materiel may have caused the late appearance of painting. But despite of this, the islands have a very active art scene. A great many of the Faroese artists of today resent being reminded of the fact that Faroese art is a comparatively recent phenomenon. They find such an observation annoying as regards their artistic work, and they claim that such a statement has no bearing whatsoever on them as artists as their frame of reference is both local and global.

With the first Faroese painters the landscape became a national icon and it has remained the central topic in Faroese visual art. The grip that Faroese art, motifically speaking, takes on the Faroese landscape might seem to be a rather old fashioned approach to visual art. The interest in installations, minimalism and conceptual art, has so far not affected Faroese art much. The village by the ocean is probably the motif which has been repeated the most. Danish art critic Ole Nørlyng concludes that nature, the wild landscape, is the driving force behind Faroese artists. but except for a close affinity with the landscape and culture of the Islands, there has always been great diversity in Faroese art.