Aka Høegh (born 16 December 1947) is a

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

ic painter, graphic artist, and sculptor.

Career

Høegh has worked in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, printmaking ( lithographs), and sculpting. 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. 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 Kalaallit are a Greenlandic Inuit ethnic group, being the largest group in Greenland, concentrated in the west. It is also a contemporary term in the Greenlandic language for the Indigenous of Greenland ().Hessel, 8 The Kalaallit (singular: ) a ...

identity through composite vignettes that relationally center women (and the artist) and the land in intergenerational knowledge transfer". Høegh illustrated Knud Rasmussen's ''Myths and Legends''. In 1986, she provided interior design for the new church in Tasiilaq. 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. The work is a dynamic, ongoing piece, with more pieces being added to at semi-regular intervals. Initially, 18 artists from Sweden,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, Norway, and the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

participated in the project. 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. Apart from being guest student at the

Academy of Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Høegh is an autodidact. In September 2013 she was honoured of Nersornaat order.

Exhibitions and international co-operation

Høegh has had solo exhibitions in Greenland, Denmark,

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, Germany,

, Sweden,

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, and Norway, as well as group exhibitions over most of Europe. She represented Greenland in "Scandinavia Today" in the United States, Mexico, and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. Høegh's art can be found on many public buildings in Greenland. The

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

relief outside the Workers' Folk High School in Qaqortoq is her work. The chimney of the new power plant is adorned by her artwork, as well.

Personal life

Born in Qullissat on Disko Island, she moved to

Qaqortoq Qaqortoq (), also known as Julianehåb, is the capital city of the Kujalleq municipalities of Greenland, municipality in southern Greenland, located near Cape Thorvaldsen. With a population of 3,050 in 2020, it is the most populous town in sout ...

in her childhood, and has lived in southern Greenland ever since. Høegh has been married to photographer and film artist Ivars Silis since 1976. The couple have two children, Inuk Silis Høegh (b. 1972) and Bolatta Silis Høegh (b. 1981), both of whom are artists."Bolatta Silis-Høegh: Evoking Greenland’s Past and Future."
''Greenland.'' Accessed 12 December 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoegh, Aka 1947 births Living people 20th-century Danish women artists 20th-century Greenlandic people 20th-century Greenlandic painters 20th-century Inuit artists 20th-century Inuit women 21st-century Danish women artists 21st-century Greenlandic people 21st-century Inuit artists 21st-century Inuit women 21st-century Inuit people Disko Island Greenlandic artists Greenlandic Inuit people Greenlandic Inuit women Greenlandic nationalists Greenlandic women artists Inuit drawing artists Inuit painters Inuit printmakers Inuit sculptors Mosaic artists People from Qaqortoq Women mosaic artists