The effect of growing up in the unique Faroese nature has a discernible effect on Finleif Mortensens’s work. The inimitable and ever-changing light, as well as the strong and often contrasting colours that characterize the landscape have an immense impact.
Finleif paints both abstract and figurative works, or immaterial and material, as they say in Icelandic. Concepts that are often considered opposites in art, but in Finleif’s work you can perceive nature in the abstract works and the abstract in the figurative. The scenery around Tórshavn is close to his heart, motifs that are a favourite of many Faroese and Danish artists. Sky and sea. Boulders and familiar mountains. Small and blocky houses and the occasional church appear to either break up the landscape or merge with it, the figurative becomes abstract.
