Internationally renowned visual artist Katrín Sigurdardóttir, MFA, has been named the next Charles C. Bergman Endowed Visiting Professorship in Studio Art in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Art.
In her work, Sigurdardóttir explores the ways in which physical structures and boundaries define our perception. Through unexpected shifts in scale, she examines distance and memory and their embodiments in architecture, cartography, archaeology and traditional landscape representations. While alluding to real locations, Sigurdardóttir’s works question the verity of these places, as well as our account of them.
Made possible by a gift from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Charles C. Bergman Endowed Visiting Professorship in Studio Art, established in 2018 in memory of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation’s longtime and legendary chairman and CEO, brings accomplished artists to the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Art to share their visions and inspiration with the next generation of young artists. The Foundation and Stony Brook University’s creation of this position celebrates Bergman’s commitment to the university and his lifelong devotion to the visual arts and artists and celebrates the legacies of Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock. Internationally renowned visual artist Shimon Attie was the inaugural recipient of this visiting professorship, named in 2020.
“We’re proud to have collaborated with Stony Brook University to create this professorship, launched in 2018, to bring renowned artists to the Stony Brook campus to work directly with students,” said Ronald D. Spencer, chairman and CEO of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. “The selection of Katrin Sigurdardóttir for the post provides an exceptional opportunity for students to learn from an artist who represented Iceland at the Venice Biennale and has created site-specific installations at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The professorship honors Charles C. Bergman, who was an important part of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation’s history, and his role in continuing Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock’s legacy of supporting generations of visual artists.”
In addition to working with Stony Brook students, Sigurdardóttir will be developing a public program in conjunction with the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center in East Hampton, which was deeded to the Stony Brook Foundation by Krasner’s estate. “Katrín’s focus on people’s responses to places makes her an ideal collaborator,” said Helen A. Harrison, director of the historic site. “Finding ways to enhance the interpretation of Pollock and Krasner’s environment, as well as encouraging creative responses to it, is what we’re all about.”
Sigurdardóttir’s works have been shown extensively over the past 30 years and are included in numerous public and private collections. Born in Reykjavik, Iceland, she represented Iceland in the 55th Venice Biennial in 2013, as well as exhibiting in the São Paulo Bienal (2018), FRONT International, Cleveland (2018), Bienal de Rabat, Morocco (2019), the Torino Triennale (2005) and Momentum Nordic Biennial (2000). She has had notable solo exhibitions at The MSU Broad Art Museum (2019), The List Center at MIT (2015), Parasol Unit Foundation of Contemporary Art, London (2015), SculptureCenter, New York (2014), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2010), MoMA PS1 (2006), FRAC Bourgogne, Dijon, France (2006), Sala Siqueiros, Mexico City (2005) and Fondazione Sandretto, Turin, Italy (2004).
The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, established in 1985 through the generosity of Lee Krasner, is a leader in providing resources to emerging and established artists. In addition to the creation of the Charles C. Bergman Endowed Visiting Professorship in Studio Art, the Foundation has provided nearly 5,000 grants totaling more than $84 million in 79 countries to working artists and visual arts organizations.
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