November 6 - December 6, 2014

Monday - Saturday, 10:00am - 5:30pm

reception: Thursday, November 6, 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

(Cover) Abstraction NT-OCP-63/09, 1963

Oil on canvaspaper mounted on linen, 26 1/2 x 42 inches

NT-OB-42/02)

As both of my parents were painters, I wasborn into the art world. For me the life of vis-iting museums, galleries, and gallery openingswas just the way people lived. If we went to afriend’s house for dinner, the first stop was tovisit their studio to see their most recentworks.

My mother, Nina tryggvadóttir, is consideredto be one of Iceland's most important AbstractExpressionist artists and, exceptionally, wasone of very few internationally noted femaleartists of her generation.

In 1968, when my mother died at the age of 55,I had just turned 17. She and I had not had theopportunity to speak as one adult to another,and I was left with many questions about herlife, her thoughts, her ideas, and her inspira-tions. At the time I do not think I really com-

prehended just how unusual and remarkablemy parents were. When my father, Alcopley,died in 1992 I became the caretaker of theartistic works of both my parents. It wasthrough the cataloging, archiving, and organ-izing of Nina’s artworks that I have truly cometo know my mother.

Starting from Nina’s accomplished schoolgirldrawings and paintings in Iceland and on toher academic studies at the prestigious royalAcademy of Art in Copenhagen, I couldalready see the seeds of what would becomeher mature style as she moved away fromstrict rendering and began to see the world ina reductive way. Nína studied ÁsgrímurJónsson, one of the pioneers of Icelandic art,and later studied in the private art school con-ducted by painters Finnur Jónsson and JóhannBriem. At the royal Academy of Art inCopenhagen, she studied under the venerableDanish painter Kræsten Iversen for four years.

Nina moved to Paris in 1938. At the time Pariswas the premier destination of choice formany young artists. there, she absorbed theinfluences of Picasso, Cézanne, and otherCubist artists.

In 1943, Nina moved to New York City, theburgeoning center of the art world. She stud-ied with the influential artist Fernand Légerand took classes with both noted painter HansHofmann and filmmaking with the avant-garde filmmaker Hans richter. Workingthrough these multiple influences, Nína wasable to form and develop her own uniquevision of the modernist approach of flatteningof the picture plane. this would lead to her

NINA trYggvADóttIr (1913-1968)

pure abstractions of the 1950s and 1960s.

By 1945 Nina caught the attention of the NewYork art scene with her first solo exhibition atthe New Art Circle gallery on 57th Street. J.B. Neumann, thegallery’s legendaryowner, regularlyorganized exhibi-tions of artists suchas WassilyKandinsky, MaxBeckmann, MarcChagall, Juan gris,Paul Klee, IlyaBolotowsky, SteveWheeler, and ChaimSoutine. Nina’s firstexhibition was ofher figures and land-scapes, which haddeveloped intostrong blocks ofcolor held togetherby representationalmotifs. At the time,Nina was workingto break free of rep-resentational paint-ing and had alreadybegun creating pureabstractions in her studio. these newabstract works would be shown in a secondsolo exhibition at the New Art Circle whichproved to be an even bigger success. Elaine deKooning, who was making a name for herselfas an art critic at the time, gave the show ahighly favorable review in Art News [Art News,4, 1948].

In 1949, Nina married my father, Alcopley, aprominent member of the Abstract

Expressionists. that same year, he and elevenother artists founded The Club, a forum for dis-cussions as well as an informal meeting placefor artists, which met every Friday in an 8thStreet loft. The Club became a major driving

force in NewYork for artisticdebate andexploration. WhileNina fit right inand was consid-ered to be "oneof the boys," herpainting tech-nique bypassedthe Surrealistand Primitivisteffects of someof her colleaguesand insteadfocused on astyle of concise,highly textured,almost sculptedplanes andwarm colors.

Later that year,Nina became anunjustified andunsubstantiated

target of Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-com-munist witch-hunt. My mother was forced toleave the United States. My father joined herin Paris in 1952, surrendering the opportuni-ties that were developing for their careers inthe New York art scene. For the next decade,due to circumstances not of their making, myparents were obliged to live in Europe.

Despite the setbacks, Nina and Alcopley char-acteristically threw themselves into their

work and quickly became a part of the Parisand London art scenes, exhibiting at some ofthe premier galleries and museums through-out Europe. Just as they had in New York,they made their way into the center of thepulse of what was happening in Europe.

At this point in time, Nina's abstractionsbecame informed by both the catastrophicdestruction and the valiant efforts to rebuildin post-war Europe. She created a series of"de-construction" and "construction" paint-ings that feature bold vertical and horizontallines – suggestive of half-destroyed buildingsand new ones in the process of creation. In themid- to late-1950s, Nina's work became lessgeometric and more organic – moving towardshapes and forms more reminiscent of natural

phenomena and away from man-made struc-tures.

In 1959 – without admitting fault – the UnitedStates government allowed Nina to return toNew York. Upon her return, Nína's workquickly moved away from the solid forms ofher previous years and exploded into expres-sive painterly surfaces – her strong brushworknow relating more to bursts of energy ratherthan to solid structures. Nina's paintingsbecame less dense and more atmospheric. theNew York art world had changed duringNina's ten-year absence, and Pop, Op, andHappenings were now in vogue. Despite thesetransitions in the world of art, Nina continuedshowing both in New York and Europe.

During what turned out to be the last six yearsof her life, Nina received numerous importantcommissions for murals and stained glass win-dows in Iceland and elsewhere in Europe,which she accomplished to great acclaim.

When she fell ill and tragically died in NewYork in 1968, Nina left behind a remarkableoutput of work that includes paintings, workson paper including collage, abstract stainedglass windows, mosaic murals, stage and setdesigns, over two hundred textile designs,portraits of well-known people of her time,and even a few children's books. As herdaughter, I am extremely proud of my moth-er’s international reputation and enduringlegacy. Almost fifty years after her death, herworks continue to inspire a new generation ofartists and collectors.

Una Dora Copley2014, New York City

NT-OM-39/06)

New Mexico (NT-OP-43/02), 1943, Santa Fe

Oil on paper, 21 x 18 inches

Abstraction (NT-OCB-59-01), 1959, London

Oil on canvasboard, 17 7/8 x 23 15/16 inches

Abstraction (NT-OL-60/09), 1960, New York

Oil on linen, 65 x 52 inches

CHECKLIST

Self Portrait (NT-OL-39/10), 1939, CopenhagenOil on linen24 x 21 inches

Sisters (NT-OM-39/06), 1939, CopenhagenOil on panel27 x 23 inches

Reykjavik Cityscape (NT-OB-42/02), 1942, ReykjavikOil on linen mounted on board18 1/2 x 18 1/2 inches

New Mexico (NT-OP-43/02), 1943, Santa FeOil on paper21 x 18 inches

Abstraction (NT-OM-44/08), 1944, New YorkOil on masonite13 x 11 inches

Odalisque with Cat (NT-OL-44/02), 1944, New YorkOil on linen mounted on board18 1/2 x 18 1/2 inches

Deconstruction Piece (NT-CP- 50/20), 1950, ReykjavikCollage and ink on paper22 3/4 x 17 1/4 inches

Abstraction (NT-691), 1952, ParisEnamel on board31 3/8 x 271/2 inches

Abstraction (NT-CP-52/15), 1952, ParisCollage and ink on paper25 1/5 x 21 3/4 inches

Abstraction (NT-EM-52/01), 1952, ParisEnamel on masonite34 1/8 x 48 1/2 inches

Abstraction (NT-EM-52/03), 1952, ParisOil and enamel on masonite42 1/8 x 47 3/16 inches

Abstraction (NT-EM-52/14), 1952, ParisEnamel on masonite17 7/8 x 21 5/8 inches

Abstraction (NT-1289), 1955, ParisOil on masonite23 3/4 x 38 1/4 inches

Abstraction (NT-997), 1956, ParisOil on board16 x 13 inches

Abstraction (1284), 1958, LondonOil on linen46 x 33 1/2 inches

Abstraction (NT-OCB-59/01), 1959, LondonOil on canvasboard17 7/8 x 23 15/16 inches

Abstraction (NT-OL-60/09), 1960, New YorkOil on linen65 x 52 inches

Still Life with Lemons (NT-OCB-60/05), 1960, ReykjavikOil on panel13 3/4 x 17 3/4 inches

Abstraction (NT-OL-62/02), 1962, New YorkOil on linen18 x 23 15/16 inches

Abstraction (NT-OCP-63/09), 1963, New YorkOil on canvaspaper mounted on linen26 1/2 x 42 inches

Abstraction (NT-OCB-64/03), 1964, New YorkOil on canvasboard18 x 23 15/16 inches

Abstraction (NT-OCB-64/04), 1964, New YorkOil on panel24 x 18 inches

Abstraction (NT-OCB-66/16), 1966, New YorkOil on panel20 x 16 inches

Still Life (NT-OCB-66/08), 1966, ReykjavikOil on panel18 x 24 inches

Still Life (NT-OCB-66/08), 1966, Reykjavik

Oil on panel, 18 x 24 inches

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