Test flight

Einar Þorláksson studied at a number of art academies, such as Gooise Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten in Laren, Netherlands, 1954–55, the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen 1955–56, the National Academy of Arts in Oslo 1956–57 and the following year at Kunstindustrien Skole in Oslo. He also spent time in Florence in 1957. Lyrical abstraction may be said to have developed alongside the geometric abstract in Iceland, but in the early 1970s, when the geometric abstract was in decline, new artists began to make their mark. Einar was one of those who continued to develop non-representational art, playing with form and space in innovative ways. In his paintings from the 1980s the observer is disoriented by Einar’s interplay of forms. Many of the paintings are on the boundary of surrealism and abstract expressionism; they are characterised by bright, strong colours which draw the eye and engender an impression or ambiance for the observer.