Reykjavík Grapevine - júl. 2020, Blaðsíða 27

Our Picks
27The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 05— 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
REYKJAVÍK ART MUSEUM ( HAFNARHÚS
Gilbert & George: The Great Exhibi-
tion
For over five decades, British artist
duo Gilbert & George have shaped
contemporary art. At this special
exhibition, come challenge the pre-
vailing bourgeois ideas of taste and
decorum while empowering gays
and other minority groups. What
else could you want?
• Opens on August 6th, 2020
• Runs until January 3rd, 2021
Ongoing
NATIONAL GALLERY OF ICELAND
Solastalgia
In this immersive installation,
explore a mix of augmented reality
with contemporary art, multisenso-
rial e&ects and cutting edge sound
design. Enter a mysterious future
in a post-human Earth where only
a mysterious digital cloud has
survived. Do you still have faith in
technology? (No.)
• Runs until January 10th, 2021
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 had 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
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
Recycle Til You Drop Workshop
This project hopes to raise aware-
ness about Icelanders' consumer
culture and the amount that people
donate to the Red Cross. In it, one
tonne of clothing needs sorting.
A"erwards, it'll need to be analysed
and creatively altered. What infor-
mation can be read from one tonne?
• Runs until August 30th, 2020
REYKJAVÍK ART MUSEUM ( HAFNARHÚS
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
Millihlustargátt / Auditory Intergate
Freyja Eilíf—a favourite of the
Grapevine—serves up a site-specific
mixed-medium installation made of
wood, paint and clay. In it, abstract
shapes in shades of green coalesce
to make an aesthetic dream. Re-
member: The window is open all day,
everyday, so stop by.
• Runs until August 27th, 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.
• 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.
• Runs until October 4th, 2020
LIVING ART MUSEUM
New Acquisitions
This new exhibition presents a
selection of The Living Art Museum’s
newest acquisitions from the past
three years. Artworks on display
span across 50 years of the Icelan-
dic contemporary art scene, dem-
onstrating the skill and invention of
pivotal artists. Note: There will be a
special artist talk on July 30th.
• Runs until August 9th, 2020
MIDPUNKT
Shapeless Vibrations
A shapeless object is paradoxal as it
means that said object is deprived
of any shape. That said, everything
has a shape so what do we mean
by shapelessness? Come explore
this puzzling concept at this onsite
installation by Claire Paugam and
Valger!ur +r Magnúsdóttir. Down
with the shape-system!
• Runs until July 26th, 2020
July 17th—August 13th
The Factory
Until Sept. 14th - Djúpavík & )in#eyri
Djúpavík is, with-
out question, one
of the most stun-
ning and memo-
rable locations
in all of Iceland.
An almost-aban-
doned fishing
village on the wild
Strandir coast, it
was once home to
hundreds of fish-
ermen who lived
scattered around
a massive, hulking
fish processing
factory. When the
herring le", so did
the people; today,
the workers’ quar-
ters have been
repurposed into
a cosy family-run
hotel. The factory
has become a
crumbling laby-
rinth of rusting
machinery, a small
museum, and—
each summer—a
contemporary
art exhibition. A
monument to a
herring-era gold
rush, ‘The Factory’
is a roadmap of
how such build-
ings can be used
to foster com-
munity, culture
and tourism. On
the other side of
the West,ords,
there will be a
sister exhibition
in )ingeyri. Better
yet, admission to
both is free. TRG

After All
Until Aug. 23rd
- Ger!arsafn
Kópavogur Art
Museum
Twelve contem-
porary Icelandic
artists show their
take on everyday
beauty, light and
humour in reflec-
tion of the present
situation in the
world and what
really drives and
matters to us. CM

Witness: Christopher Lund
Until Sept.
13th - Reykjavík
Museum of
Photo#raphy
'Witness' intends
to showcase the
side of Iceland
that wants to be
discovered and
explored and
put its visitor,
the traveller,
the tourist in
contrast but also
in connection
to the strikin#
landscapes. CM

Hafnarhús’ Free Thursdays!
Thursdays
- 17:00-22:00 -
Hafnarhús
Nothing gets us
going like the
sweet sweet
taste of free
art. Forget
aperol spritzes
in Fjallkonan, this
summer we’re
slurping up some
fresh exhibits. Ah
yes. Culture. PA
Gar!atorg 1· Gar!abær
Open Tue - Sun 12 -17
Exhibitions:

Paperflowers
by Rúna "orkelsdóttir

Behind the Scenes
Icelandic Visual Language

Sveinn Kjarval
Furniture and interior designer

Flokk till you drop
Designers in residence