Reykjavík Grapevine - 10.08.2012, Síða 63

A R T
in August
Let's Hit The Stage
LÓKAL -- International Theatre Festival
Aug. 22-26
2,200 ISK for single show; 9,900 ISK for six shows
Various locations
Even if the waning month of August brings shorter days and cooler nights, the
local theatre scene in Reykjavík is about to heat up considerably as LÓKAL brings
performers and stage crew, not to mention audiences, to the city. LÓKAL is in its
fifth year, and for 2012 it affords a selection of theatre artists from three European
cities: Berlin, Dublin and, perhaps to as little to no surprise, Reykjavík.
Shows on the playbill this year include experimental forays, like Map of the
World (put on by Mind Group, an Icelandic troupe), when four people will draw a
map onstage and engage the audience, using bits of information (old memories,
pictures, tales from younger days) to construct a new narrative.
The Blue Boy is a 2011 show from Irish group The Brokentalkers. The story
concerns a boy’s blue-coloured ghost who haunts the area around the Dublin
suburb of Artane (where the Catholic church houses and educates children in
Ireland’s largest industrial school). It delves into the realm of child labour abuse
within the walls of Irish Catholic institutions, and promises to be a poignant
experience.
To complement some of the shows, LÓKAL also includes a panel open to the
public in which child abuse in Ireland and Iceland will be discussed in terms of
how art and reality exist together.
Each show cost 2,200 ISK, or theatre-goers may purchase a festival card for
9,900 ISK that will grant them admission to six shows. Seating is first come, first
serve, and as some of the venues are small, you’ll want to reserve ahead of time.
Check LÓKAL’s website (lokal.is) for show times, dates and more detailed descrip-
tions. BW
The Nordic House
The Library
The collection centers around new Nor-
dic literature, both fiction and nonfiction.
The library lends out novels, academic
publications, audio books and more.
On permanent view
Watercolours by Lars Lerin
Swedish artist Lars Lerin contrasts the
sheer grandeur of the natural world
against the bleakness of human life on
the Norwegian Lofoten Islands in a series
of watercolor paintings.
Runs until August 12
Reykjavík Art Museum -
Ásmundarsafn
The Fire Within
A collection of sculptures by Ásmundur
Sveinsson housed in his former home.
The pieces explore three major themes:
the woman as lover, the brutality of war
and the unknown frontier of outer space.
Runs until April 14, 2013
Reykjavík Art Museum- Hafnarhús
Erró- Drawings from 1944-2012
The exhibition consists of more than
200 drawings Erró has done since 1944
until the present day.
Runs until August 19
(I)ndependent People -
Collaborations and Artists
Initiatives
(I)ndependent People asks if and how
collaboration can operate in negotia-
tion with contesting ideas and desires,
and yet allow for unplanned action.
This large-scale collaboration takes
place at a cluster of museums, galler-
ies, artist-run spaces and institutions
in the capital area. Focusing on visual
art from the Nordic region, the exhibi-
tions are conceived as an opportunity
to establish and instigate a discussion
around the relationships between in-
ternational and Nordic networks from
the perspective of collaborative and
artist-initiated processes.
Runs until Sept. 2
Reykjavík Art Museum-
Kjavalsstaðir
Kjarval - Key Works
Reykjavík Art Museum draws on
its extensive collection of works
by Jóhannes S. Kjarval for ongoing
exhibitions at Kjarvalsstaðir. The cur-
rent exhibition in the Kjarval Gallery
features key works of Kjarval’s oeuvre
and offers a unique and powerful ret-
rospective from Iceland’s most beloved
painter.
Permanent exhibition
Hangman's Rock - The Delirium of
a Vision
Work by painter Jóhannes Kjarval and
other artists like Finnur Jónsson look
to dissolve borders between external
and internal reality, with works that
depict lava fields and the paradoxes of
visual perception.
Runs through Aug. 26
Reykjavík City Hall
Bringing out the Past
A display of photos from the last
(and first) 12 years of Reykjavík Gay
Pride.
Reykjavík City Museum
Reykjavík 871 +/- 2
The Settlement Exhibition
Archaeological findings from ruins of
one of the first houses in Iceland and
other excavations in the city centre,
open daily 10:00-17:00, 600 ISK per
adult, 300 ISK for children (children
under 12, free) and 450 ISK per person
in groups (10+).
On permanent view
Reykjavík Maritime Museum
From Poverty to Abundance
Photos documenting Icelandic fisher-
men at the turn of the 20th century.
On permanent view
The History of Sailing
Iceland's maritime history and the
growth of the Reykjavík Harbour.
On permanent view
The Call of Sagas
An exhibition from Finland about an
adventurous voyage in an open boat
from Finland to Iceland, honoring the
old viking shipping routes.
On permanent view
The Watercolours of Ólafur
Thorlacius
Ólafur Þór worked with the Icelandic
Coast Guard for many years as a map-
maker. He is now retired and paints
beautiful watercolors in his free time.
On permanent view
Sigurjón Ólafsson Museum
Milestones: Sigurjón Ólafsson's
Key Sculptures
An exhibition with some of Sigurjón
Ólafsson's key works from differ-
ent periods of his prolific career as
a sculptor. The earliest work on the
exhibition is a newly acquired relief of
two sisters, which he made at his first
year at the Royal Academy of Art in
Copenhagen. This relief has not been
exhibited in Iceland before.
Runs until October 1
Skörin
Moved by Iceland
Unnur Óttarsdóttir makes jewelry
with two of Iceland's most iconic
materials - lava rocks and wool. In
this exhibit, she invites the audience
to participate in the living energy
evoked by Iceland's volcanic history.
There will be a special opening
event at the gallery.
Runs until August 14
Hönnunarsafn Íslands
Museum of Design
and Applied Art
Garðatorg 1, Garðabær
Tel. +354 512 1525
Open 12–17
Closed on Mondays
www.honnunarsafn.is
Kópavogur
Art Museum-
Gerðarsafn
Hamraborg 4, Kópavogur
Tel. +354 570 0440
Open 11–17
Closed on Mondays
www.gerdarsafn.is
Hafnarborg
The Hafnarfjordur
Centre of Culture
and Fine Art
Strandgata 34, Hafnarfjörður
Tel. +354 585 5790
Open 12–17
Thursdays 12–21
Closed on Tuesdays
www.hafnarborg.is
To the Blue LagoonEiríkur Smith
The Last Abstraction
Hreinn Friðfinnsson
House
Product designers
Something to write
home about
Gerður Helgadóttir and
Svava Björnsdóttir
Summer ‘74
Step into
the Viking Age
Experience Viking-Age Reykja­vík a­t the
new Settlement Exhibition. The focus of the
exhibition is a­n exca­va­ted longhouse site which
da­tes from the 10th century ad. It includes
relics of huma­n ha­bita­tion from a­bout 871, the
oldest such site found in Icela­nd.

Multimedia­ techniques bring Reykja­vík’s
pa­st to life, providing visitors with insights
into how people lived in the Viking Age, a­nd
wha­t the Reykja­vík environment looked like
to the first settlers.
The exhibition a­nd
museum shop a­re open
da­ily 10–17
Aða­lstræti 16
101 Reykja­vík / Icela­nd
Phone +(354) 411 6370
www.reykja­vikmuseum.is