CRITIC’S CHOICE

The late Karolina Larusdottir’s upbringing in Reykjavik sounds the stuff of a novel. The grand-daughter of a strongman in a travelling circus, she spent many childhood holidays in the Hotel Borg, which her grandfather set up as the Icelandic capital’s first “grand hotel” in the 1930s. The hotel and its life inspired her work, including the etchings and paintings that fill the exhibition at the Castle Gallery next month. This exhibition, designed in celebration of Larusdottir’s 75th birthday by the gallery that long supported her work, will open next week under something of a cloud. For while it celebrates her unique style, Larusdottir died this month, just weeks before the show was due to open. Her family, in England and Iceland, agreed that the exhibition should go ahead in celebration of her life and work.

Gallery director Denise Collins, a long-time friend of Larusdottir, who had recently retired, attests to the artist’s legacy. “She created strikingly individual works of art which will stand the test of

time,” she said. “She came from a generation of artists who grafted and crafted, realising that to become a great artist one must develop the technical skills necessary to express one’s unique vision. She represented a beacon of determination amid an increasingly complex art world.”

Born in Reykjavik in 1944,

Larusdottir studied at the

Ruskin School of Art in

Oxford, moving back to Iceland in recent years. Much of her work is surreal, dealing with her favourite topic, people. The exhibition takes its title from one of her etchings and includes rare prints and early works alongside more recent limited edition prints. The show itself will be accompanied by the publication of a monograph on the artist.

The Good Gathering: Karolina Larusdottir, Castle Gallery, 43 Castle Street, Inverness, www.castlegallery.co.uk, 01463 729512, Mar 1-30, Mon-Sat 9am-5pm