THIS BRAVE ARTSMAN FROM SE ENGLANDS - PART FJÓRIR

Thanks to Facebook I messaged my Icelandic friend and artist Snorri Asmundsson and told him where I was, Snorri was supposed to be in Suriname so I didn't expect him to be around, however due to unfortunate circumstances he was in town. Snorri notified me that his dear friend Thorvaldur Thorsteinsson passed away unexpectedly, Thorvaldur is an Icelandic artist and it seems he died far too young.

It turned out that Snorri was only 100 meters up the road from me and my empty guest house, so he was able to fit me in for a quick coffee. Venturing back outside after only being inside for 15 minutes was quite a feat, I met Snorri outside and with the wind behind us we flew to the coffee shop in 30 seconds. I sensed sadness in Snorri since the first time we met in Reykjavik four years ago. He spoke a little about his friend Thorvaldur and I am intrigued to know more about this artist. Our meeting was brief as Snorri was taking his daughter to see Beautiful Creatures. I hope to see him later in Seyðisfjörður.

Since writing this I did manage to look into Thorvaldur Thorsteinsson, a powerful work that caught my eye and a work that seems eerily poignant is Most Real Death. Here is an excerpt from the 2011 version of that work. The art world has certainly lost an irreplaceable talent but perhaps his passing will encourage more of us to seek out his practice.  

MOST REAL DEATH 2011, Thorvaldur Thorsteinsson