Aka Høegh (born 16 December 1947[1]) is a Greenlandic painter, graphic artist, and sculptor.

Career

Høegh has worked in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, printmaking (lithographs), and sculpting.[2]

In her art, Høegh focuses on nationalistic expressionism, creating art which reflects local, traditional myths, and is steeped in heritage and local lore. She frequently incorporates legend, nature, and provincial mythos into her works, devising strong connections between her art and local tradition. During the 1970s, she was regularly cited as the main artist in establishing a Greenlandic artistic identity. [citation needed] Her work in the 1970s "was foundational for how she generated relational spaces of intimacy within the politics of representation," and her pieces "center Kalaallit identity through composite vignettes that relationally center women (and the artist) and the land in intergenerational knowledge transfer".[3]

Høegh illustrated Knud Rasmussen's Myths and Legends.[2]

In 1986, she provided interior design for the new church in Tasiilaq.[4]

She is best known for heading the art project "Stone and Man" (1993-1994), which established a sculpture garden in her home town of Qaqortoq in southern Greenland.[5][6] The work is a dynamic, ongoing piece, with more pieces being added to at semi-regular intervals. Initially, 18 artists[6] from Sweden, Finland, Norway, and the Faroe Islands participated in the project.[citation needed]

As a member of the international artist group "Art for Life", Høegh is cooperating with eleven other artists to produce the world's largest painting in Spain. The painting's projected size is 24.644 square meters.[citation needed]

Apart from being guest student at the Academy of Arts in Copenhagen, Høegh is an autodidact.[citation needed]

In September 2013 she was honoured of Nersornaat order.[7][8]

Exhibitions and international co-operation

Høegh has had solo exhibitions in Greenland, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Alaska, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Latvia, and Norway, as well as group exhibitions over most of Europe. She represented Greenland in "Scandinavia Today" in the United States, Mexico, and Lithuania.[citation needed]

Høegh's art can be found on many public buildings in Greenland. The mosaic relief outside the Workers' Folk High School in Qaqortoq is her work.[2] The chimney of the new power plant is adorned by her artwork, as well.[citation needed]

Personal life

Born in Qullissat on Disko Island, she moved to Qaqortoq in her childhood, and has lived in southern Greenland ever since.[citation needed]

Høegh has been married to photographer and film artist Ivars Silis since 1976.[9] The couple have two children, Inuk Silis Høegh (b. 1972) and Bolatta Silis Høegh (b. 1981), both of whom are artists.[10]

References

  1. ^ "Aka Høegh, Greenlandic Artist". Bryggen Art. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  2. ^ a b c Kaalund, Bodil (1 January 1983). The Art of Greenland: Sculpture, Crafts, Painting. University of California Press. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-520-04840-9.
  3. ^ von Harringa, Charissa (5 April 2021). "Movement and the Living Surface". In Greaves, Kerry (ed.). Modern Women Artists in the Nordic Countries, 1900–1960. Routledge. pp. 58–59. ISBN 978-1-000-37098-0.
  4. ^ Rasmussen, Rasmus Ole (23 September 2005). "Tasiilaq". In Nuttall, Mark (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Arctic. Routledge. p. 2003. ISBN 978-1-136-78680-8.
  5. ^ "Medlemmar - Aka Høegh - CV" (in Danish). Den Gyldne, DK. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  6. ^ a b King, David C. (2009). Greenland. Marshall Cavendish. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-7614-3118-3.
  7. ^ Duus, Søren Duran (16 September 2013). "Aka Høegh har fået tildelt Nersornaat i sølv" (in Danish). sermitsiaq.ag. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  8. ^ "Aka Høegh sølviusumik Nersornaaserneqarpoq" (in Kalaallisut). qalorsaq.gl. 16 September 2013. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  9. ^ "Ivars Silis home page". Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  10. ^ "Bolatta Silis-Høegh: Evoking Greenland’s Past and Future." Greenland. Accessed 12 December 2012.
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