Reykjavík Grapevine - Jun 2020, Page 27

Our Picks
27The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 04— 2020
Art Listin"s
Events are listed by venue. For complete
listin!s and detailed information on venues,
visit !rapevine.is/happenin!.
Send your listin!s to: listin!s@!rapevine.is
Opening
NORDIC HOUSE
DesignMarch: Hringir
Íris Ösp sheds a light on the con-
nection between motherly love and
Mother Earth. As she says, "What we
all have in common is to share the
same mother." Hopefully she's not
referring to the film by Aronofsky.
• Opens on June 24th, 2020
• Runs until June 28th, 2020
DesignMarch: Vanishing Point
'Vanishing Point' is the result of
research work involving epoxy resin,
pigment and light. Basically, they
played around with cool stu% to
make cool reactions with utility and
light. Love it.
• Opens on June 24th, 2020
• Runs until June 28th, 2020
DesignMarch: A Prototype Chair
This exhibition is a tribute to Nordic
design, manifested in the elegant
and timeless 'Anna' chair. Don't sit
on it please. Just observe it.
• Opens on June 24th, 2020
• Runs until June 28th, 2020
REYKJAVÍK ART MUSEUM (
KJARVALSSTA)IR
Jóhannes S. Kjarval: At Home
Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval (1885-
1972) was one of the pioneers of
Icelandic art (the museum is literally
named a$er him) and is one of the
country‘s most beloved artists. His
connection to, and interpretation
of Iceland’s natural environment is
thought to have taught Icelanders
to appreciate it anew, and to have
encouraged pride in the country’s
uniqueness and the world of adven-
ture to be discovered within it.
• Opens on June 25th, 2020
• Runs until December 31st, 2020
What It Seems – Reality on Canvas
1970-2020
Many painters seek to achieve an
impression of realism in their works.
But is everything what it seems in
paintings made in a realistic style?
We don't know, that's why they
made an exhibit about it.
• Opens on June 25th, 2020
• Runs until December 31st, 2020
Ongoing
NATIONAL GALLERY OF ICELAND
Treasures Of A Nation
A selection of over 80 works chosen
from the national gallery’s collec-
tion displays the evolution of art
since the 19th century.
• Runs until October 4th, 2020
High Plane VI
Katrín Sigur#ardóttir has for some
years been exploring the e%ects
of perception in her installations
and works. Here, she dismantles a
classic theme of Icelandic paint-
ings: mountains, the blue of distant
vistas, and the obsession with
Icelandic nature.
• Runs until January 3rd, 2021
Mats Gustafson
Swedish artist Mats Gustafson has
always held a special feeling for
the transient nature of waterco-
lour. This exhibition contains all his
best-known works, including ones
made with fashion houses Dior, Yohji
Yamamoto, Comme des Garcons, and
more.
• Runs until August 30th, 2020
Electromagnetic Objects
The "Electromagnetic Objects" are a
collection of works by Woody Vasul-
ka and the audio artist Brian O'Reilly.
According to O'Reilly, “the works use
sources excavated directly from
the output of the Electromagnetic
Objects, as well as further manipu-
lations using Tom Demeyer's ImX
so$ware, developed with input from
Steina." Sounds complicated, but we
still stan.
• Runs until December 31st. 2020
EINAR JÓNSSON MUSEUM
Permanent Exhibition
The museum contains close to
300 artworks including a beautiful
garden with 26 bronze casts of the
artist’s sculptures.
REYKJAVÍK CITY MUSEUM
Settlement Exhibition
As Viking ruins meet digital technol-
ogy, this exhibition provides insight
into Reykjavík's farms at the time of
the first settlers.
REYKJAVÍK ART MUSEUM (
ÁSMUNDARSAFN
Ásmundur Sveinsson: Under the
Same Sky - Art In Public Space
Ásmundarsafn is named a$er sculp-
tor Ásmundur Sveinsson. This new
permanent exhibition presents the
artist in a new light. What dialogue
does his works provoke?
• Runs until September 30th, 2020
Ásmundur For Families
Children get free entry to learn
about Ásmundur Sveinsson, a$er
whom the museum is named.
• Runs until September 30th, 2020
REYKJAVÍK MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Witness
The photographic exhibition Witness
is opening in unusual times, when
its subject has temporarily disap-
peared. The visitor, in Iceland to see
cascading waterfalls, advancing
glaciers and surf crashing on the
shore, is absent. Iceland’s nature is
alone once more.
• Runs until September 13th, 2020
Obscure Presence
Coming from a small isolated island
with extreme weather conditions
and almost unearthly landscapes,
Icelanders have a unique con-
nection with the unknown. Here,
Gunnlö# Jóna Rúnarsdóttir explores
that unique connection.
• Runs until August 16th, 2020
REYKJAVÍK MARITIME MUSEUM
Fish & Folk
Name a better duo than fish and
Iceland. You can’t. So come learn
about the history of Icelandic fisher-
ies from row boats to monstrous
trawlers.
Melckmeyt 1659
Melckmeyt was a Dutch merchant
ship that crashed near Flatey Island
in 1659. Explore the wreck here.
with two images of di%erent origins
against each other.
MUSEUM OF DESIGN AND APPLIED ART
Paperflowers
The bookwork 'Paperflowers' was
made by Rúna &orkelsdóttir over a
period of two years on a Rotaprint
machine at her studio in Amster-
dam. In 2007, she along with Tao
Kurihara made fabric inspired by the
work, along with a summer collec-
tion using that.
• Runs until September 6th, 2020
Sveinn Kjarval
This exhibition focuses on the pio-
neering work of Sveinn Kjarval, one
of the most pioneering furniture
makers and interior designers in
the country. While many pieces
have been lost in time, there will be
photographs showing never-before-
seen designs.
• Runs until August 30th, 2020
GER)ARSAFN KÓPAVOGUR ART MUSEUM
Imprint
'Imprint' comprises works by seven
contemporary artists who decon-
struct the ideas of the photograph
as a window on reality. Come explore
the ambiguous nature of the pho-
tograph, while also playing with the
potential of the medium and push-
ing the boundaries of it.
• Runs until June 21st, 2021
REYKJAVÍK ART MUSEUM ( HAFNARHÚS
Structure and Order: Dra# of Con-
temporary Art History in Iceland [IV]
The exhibition is the fourth in a
series of dra$s of Icelandic contem-
porary art history, based on works
from the Reykjavík Art Museum's
collection. Works are selected and
juxtaposed in a thematic context in
an experiment to reflect art history
in real time. This one takes on the
style of minimalism.
• Runs until July 12th, 2020
Erró: Cyborg
This series of the great Erró was
inspired by technology, science
and the combination of the human
and the mechanic. In particular, it
examines how technology invades
the body and how the human body
adapts to the machine. The images
o%er questions concerning the
borderlines between human beings
and technology.
• Runs until December 31st, 2020
Sol LeWitt
This exhibition spans 30 years of the
great American conceptual artist Sol
LeWitt's career. In LeWitt’s works, all
the planning and decision-making
for the execution of an artwork is
made beforehand, and with that,
as he said, “the idea becomes a
machine that makes the art.”
• Runs until July 19th, 2020
Hafnarhús – Depot of Ideas in the
City Centre
It's the 20th anniversary of Hafnar-
hús! Yay! This special exhibition fo-
cuses on the building and its history
and transformation, viewed through
sketches and photographs, among
other things. It also examines how
the museum building, as a space,
interacts with the art and connects
to its environment, the city centre.
• Runs until July 16th, 2020
HAFNARBORG
DesignMarch: material:wood
Wood is an organic matter that
bends equally to the laws of nature
and chance. It does not yield easily
and the material itself o$en af-
fects the final outcome, whether in
regards to shape or finish. It also
composes trees, which we like to
hug.
• Runs until August 23rd, 2020
HVERFISGALLERÍ
Houndshills, Houndshollows
Gu#mundur Thoroddsen, for his
exhibition, was inspired by a beer
called 'Hundur', which means dog.
"You can understand why they think
it necessary for this thing to have a
name, that it is named something,"
he wrote in the accompanying text.
"If the beer has a name like Dog,
then we can create a context in
which to understand what it is we
are imbibing."
• Runs until August 1st, 2020
WIND & WEATHER WINDOW GALLERY
Afdrep // Refuge
Ragnhei#ur Sigur#ardóttir Bjarnar-
son's site-specific mixed-medium
installation presents a bright
sun-like shape rising over a series
of white glacier-esque mountains.
Perfect for the midnight sun. Re-
member: The window is open all day,
everyday, so stop by.
• Runs until June 27th, 2020
June 19th—July 16th
Listahátí( í Reykjavík
All 2020 - All over!
It’s been 50 years
since Listahátí#
í Reykjavík—the
Reykjavík Arts Fes-
tival—began. Due
to the COVID-19
pandemic though,
the extravaganza
has changed
formats this year,
and will instead
be a 2020-long
celebration of
local arts. Events
are just kicking
o%, and we’re so
happy to dedicate
all of the featured
events on this
page to one of
the most iconic
arts festivals in
the country. From
Víkingur Ólafs-
son’s Septem-
ber ‘Debussy &
Rameau’ premiere
to Iceland Dance
Company’s
‘Rómeó <3 Júlía’
dance show in No-
vember, Listahátí#
í Reykjavík is giv-
ing us one bright
light for 2020…
a much needed
one, seriously. HJC

Listahátí( í Reykjavík: Solastal"ia
Until Aug. 25th -
Listasafn Íslands
Explore an
augmented
reality with
contemporary
art, multisensorial
e%ects and cut-
ting edge sound
design. Enter a
mysterious future
in a post-human
Earth where only
a mysterious
digital cloud has
survived. (We're
spooked.) HJC

Listahátí( í Reykjavík: NoShow
Until June 27th -
Various times & a
secret location
Walk throu!h a
stran!er’s house
!uided by hand-
written letters.
Seriously. There’s
a very limited set
of tickets, so si!n
up by sendin!
your name and
time to skran-
in!@artfest.is.
Only then will you
know the secret
location. HJC

Listahátí( í Reykjavík:
Common Ground
Until June 23rd -
SÍM Gallery
Where is home?
Explore that
concept with
a group of art-
ists both born
in Iceland and
abroad. How are
we similar? How
are we di%erent?
How can we band
together? Do you
need more ques-
tions? HJC
Gar!atorg 1· Gar!abær
Open Tue - Sun 12 -17
Exhibitions:

Behind the Scenes
Icelandic Visual Language

Sveinn Kjarval
Furniture and interior designer

Ásthildur Magnúsdóttir
Weaver
Designer in residence
Opening 6th of March