Thoughts That Cure Radically: ‘Luminous Modernism 1912/2012’ Scandinavia House

A puerile funk has descended over New York City. Passing an abysmally sultry holiday season with temperatures that, corklike, could not fall below mild, even the most casual observer could not help but notice that something has gone wrong with our environment. Distress over ecology becomes heightened while attending, ‘Luminous Modernism’ at the Scandinavia House on Park Avenue. Viewing what would appear to be a quaint byway in Impressionist history, the exhibition instead becomes a nostalgic time travel to a period when artists could expect, per the season, cold invigorating weather. Paintings of snow, Nordic landscapes, fur and sun only add to the poignancy as time and indifference removes us further from cyclical weather progression. Based around a traveling exhibition from 1912 that highlighted Scandinavian artists, the show acts today as a chapter in nationalist artistic progression, including countries such as Iceland, once considered long off the artistic map. Many of the painters, including Thorvald Erichsen, Harold Sohlberg and Pekka Halonen, are little known outside of the origin countries, while some, such as the Danish artist Vilhelm Hammershoi and Norwegian Edvard Munch, have had international reputations for generations. Regardless of repute, the exhibition affords an opportunity to see artists develop their language outside of the spotlight absorbing disparate advanced influences. Paintings show clear influences of Symbolism, Impressionism and the Fauvist influence of Derain and Matisse, who attracted international students in addition to Scandinavian artists who studied in his atelier and took his influence back to their respective countries. While note every painting sparkles, certain work, especially the Munch landscape, achieves luminescence, highlighting what once was, and what will be lost.