Berkeley, California (Friday, October 19, 2007) – "Nordic Mysteries," an art exhibition at the Addison Street Windows Gallery, October 19 through November 28, 2007, brings together Nordic sense and sensibility as seen by 16 artists from the "Nordic 5 Arts" group. These artists have created paintings, photography, mixed media and sculpture that speak of their connection to the Nordic countries and cultures. There will be an opening sidewalk reception on Friday, October 19, 2007, 6 p.m. -8p.m. This event is free, open to the public, and wheelchair accessible.

The artists are: Margareta Bergman, Kati Casida, Colette Crutcher,  Lotte Dyhrberg, Olivia Eielson, Ashley Eriksmoen, Mark Erickson, Pam Fingado, Norma Andersen Fox, Maj-Britt Mobrand, Dorothy Nissen, Pernilla Persson, Diane Rusnak, Helene Sobol, Elizabeth Stokkebye, and Helena Tiainen.

These 16 artists share a common heritage either as first generation immigrants or from parents and grandparents who came to the United States and brought with them their Nordic culture. Whether growing up in one of the five Nordic countries or in the United States, the artists have been influenced by their Nordic heritage, with the important distinctions between the countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.

"Nordic 5 Arts" is an organization for artists with a Nordic/Scandinavian heritage which explore new ideas and promotes cultural events. The Nordic countries shared cultural experience dates back to the Middle Ages and the writing of the Viking Sagas. The Nordic countries gave birth to the Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen, the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, the Swedish author August Strindberg and Edvard Munch, the Norwegian expressionist painter whose painting "Scream" still resonates today.  The landscape combines the magnificence of fjords and cascading waterfalls with the dangers of steep mountain paths, rocky coastlines and impenetrable forests. The skies run the gamut from perpetual daylight in high summer to cold, gloomy, seemingly endless night during the long winter months, a profound darkness broken only by the appearance of the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights. The influence of landscape and Nordic myth continues in the artists work, even though they reside in the Bay Area. 

The Addison Street Windows Gallery is a project of the Civic Arts Program of the City of Berkeley in cooperation with the Civic Arts Commission. For information please contact Mary Ann Merker, Civic Arts Coordinator at (510) 981-7533, mmerker@ci.berkeley.ca.us. For further information about this exhibition, please visit www.nordic5arts.org to learn more about the artists.

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