Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I would like to welcome you all and thank you for coming here tonight, to Reynir Sæmundsson’s, Rey Saem´s, debut art show, titled FIVE. I would like to extend a special welcome to the honorary guests tonight - who have flown in from Iceland for this event! 
Verið hjartanlega velkomin! It’s a great pleasure for me to have been invited to be with you here tonight. 

Rey Saem, like so many Icelanders, has an innate need to express his artistic side. Icelanders are a hard working nation, but despite working hard, most don’t forget to express their creativity, imagination and soul through art, be it literal, visual or performance. 

Icelanders are likely to write a book in their lifetime, drama, poetry or perhaps even a autobiography. They are likely to participate in a choir, in a production of a play, dance, draw, paint, sculpt, take photographs, do some landscaping or even make movies …

Currently there are 3 Icelandic movies being screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. Under the tree, The Swan and Winter Brothers. 

It is sometimes said, that Icelanders are the world’s best at everything - per capita. We have the most Nobel Prize winners in the world – although we only have one! (Turns out that 1 out of 340.000 isn’t bad). We have the most amount of artists per capita in the world, as well as authors, musicians, art galleries etc. There seems to be something in the pristine Icelandic nature, the ice and fire, the harsh winters and wonderful 24 hours sunlight summers that brings out the creative side in the individual. It is from this background that Rey Saem springs from. He is born in Iceland and spent summer after summer under the huge Icelandic skies - close to the moon and the stars. He studied architecture in Denmark and worked as such for many years, before he devoted himself to painting.

I’m sure he also sings or has sung in a choir, performed in a theatre production, and I’m certain we will be reading his auto-biography soon! 

Rey Saems debut is titled FIVE. It gives reference to the artists youth. At the young age of 5, in true Viking style, Reynir decided to leave home and travel as far as possible. One of the reasons for his decision was that he had recently started seeing dead people’s spirits. He felt crowded by ghosts and men - and wanted to get away.

Reynir’s destination was the moon – by which he has been fascinated all his life. He built a (kassabíl) - wooden car - for the journey (a recreation of which is a part of the show). Reynir´s plan was to transform the kassabíl into a rocket, to transport him to the moon. On the moon Reynir planned to build a house, find a cave where he would go fishing and talk to the stars, in peace and quiet. Reynir claims he hasn’t been to the moon yet – however, I’m not convinced - perhaps he has – and perhaps he will take us there with him tonight!

Ladies and gentlemen – thanks again for coming out here tonight – please enjoy the show!