Reykjavík Grapevine - feb. 2021, Blaðsíða 21

Our Picks
21The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 02— 2021
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 MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY
The Silent But Noble Art
Sigurhans Vignir (1894-1975) le"
the museum an archive of around
40,000 photographs. Many of these
document everyday Icelandic
society just a"er the creation of the
Republic of Iceland in 1944—a chris-
tening, labourers at work, people
skating, the occupation of Iceland
during World War II by British troops,
a beauty pageant, a birthday party, a
wigmaker… and so on.
• Opens on March 6th, 2021
• Runs until September 9th, 2021
The Arctic Circus
For one and a half years, photogra-
phers Haakon Sand and Gudmund
Sand followed the everyday life of
Sirkus Íslands. So, you could perhaps
say... they ran away and joined (pho-
tographed) the circus.
• Opens on March 4th, 2021
• Runs until May 30th, 2021
REYKJAVÍK ART MUSEUM ' HAFNARHÚS
Raw Power
Wait, another Erró exhibition? You
bet! This one places Erró's works
from di(erent periods in the
context of contemporary Icelandic
art. It's a diverse selection that, as
always, contain the numerous media
reference the artist has become
known for.
• Opens on February 18th, 2021
• Runs until May 25th, 2021
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 February 14th, 2021
Barren Land
In 2004, landscape painter Georg
Gu!ni bought a plot of land and built
a studio, which he entitled Berangur
('Barren Land'). This name could
really be appplied to all his works he
created there—they are all touched
with a rugged sensibility of the
craggy weather-beaten barren land
on which they were made. Check out
a selection here.
• Runs until April 25th, 2021
HELLO UNIVERSE
It's 2021 and we're over Earth. Enter
Finnur Jónsson. The avant-garde art
of Finnur—the first Icelandic artist
to address outer space in his works,
in the first half of the 20th cen-
tury—presents the artist's unfet-
tered interpretation of the marvels
of the celestial bodies, which are
the theme of this exhibition. Always
remember: We are but matter expe-
riencing itself on a pale blue dot.
• Runs until January 9th, 2022
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 MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Press Photographs Of The Year 2020
Ever heard of press photographs?
The Grapevine has a lot of them.
Anyway, here are the top picks from
2020 by the Icelandic Press Photog-
raphy Association. Do we have any?
NO! OUR PHOTOGRAPHER DID NOT SEND
ANY THIS YEAR! WE REGRET THIS!
• Runs until February 28th, 2021
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
Peysa Me" Öllu Fyrir Alla
You’d be a little taken aback if your
doctor turned up with green lips,
vampire fangs and dental braces or
a giant tongue covered in a dozen
tiny tongues—although maybe not
in these strange times—but these
are just the sort of surreal realities
that &r Jóhannsdóttir—artist name
&rúrarí—creates. Now she’s in the
Museum of Design & Applied Art, in a
studio project that will see her make
her tongue-filled projects using only
discarded sweaters from the Red
Cross.
• Runs until May 29th, 2021

REYKJAVÍK ART MUSEUM ' HAFNARHÚS
Ragnar Axelsson:
Where The World Is Melting
Grapevine-favourite Ragnar Axelsson
presents a not-to-miss exhibition
with selections from his 'Faces of
the North', 'Glacier', and 'Heroes Of
The North' series. Ragnar has been
documenting the Arctic for over 40
years, and in stark black-and-white
images, he captures the elemental,
human experience of nature at the
edge of the liveable world.
• Runs until May 9th, 2021
Hulda Rós Gu"nadóttir: WERK – Labor
Move
Hulda Rós Gu!nadóttir's installation
in the lobby of the museum consists
of a three-channel filmic work,
sculptures, and a video recording of
the assembly of said sculptures. It's
an exploration of the multi-layered
global economy—featuring dock-
works mimicking their own work in
repeated choreography. Ooph, that
really puts our work into perspec-
tive, right?
• Runs until May 9th, 2021
D42 Klængur Gunnarsson: Crooked
Klængur Gunnarsson blends
documentary and fiction to create
a skewed view of everyday life and
activities in this exhibition. The goal?
Make you question the importance
of taking a break. Just saying: We at
the Grapevine love breaks. It's why
we haven't yet developed a space
program.
• Runs until March 14th, 2021
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 adventure to be
discovered within it.
• Runs until March 14th, 2021
Sigur"ur Árni Sigur"sson: Expanse
In this mid-career retrospective,
Sigur!ur Árni Sigur!sson presents
a series of paintings which dissect
just how we view the world around
us. Sigur!ur's works are known
for exploring the limits of our field
of vision and how that forms the
basis of our worldview.
• Runs until March 14th, 2021
GER)ARSAFN KÓPAVOGUR ART MUSEUM
SCULPTURE / SCULPTURE
Presenting: two solo exhibitions by
artists Ólöf Helga Helgadóttir and
Magnús Helgason. The aim of the
series is to explore contemporary
sculpture and the development
within three-dimensional art, not
only as an important part of art
history, but also as a living visual
language within contemporary art.
The series is intended to honor the
sculptor Ger!ur Helgadóttir (1928-
1975), who Ger!arsafn museum is
named a"er.
• Runs until February 28th, 2021
GER!UR
As the first Icelandic artist to use
iron in her artwork, Ger!ur Hel-
gadóttir was a pioneer of three-
dimensional abstract art in Iceland.
Ger!ur's creativity and experimental
nature is a motif within the museum
and reflects its unique position of
being the only museum founded
in honour of a female artist. Using
iron plates or steel wires, the artist
created delicate compositions in
space, o"en with a cosmic refer-
ence.
• Runs until April 4th, 2021

HAFNARBORG
Hafnar&ör"ur:
Works from the collection
The exhibition is a selection of works
from the Hafnarborg collection
that all showcase Hafnar*ör!ur in
a unique way. Few towns in Iceland
are as picturesque as Hafnar*ör!ur
and the nature surrounding it also
o(ers spectacular points of view.
And we're not just saying that be-
cause our editor is from there. That
said, he is from there.
• Runs until March 7th, 2021

LIVING ART MUSEUM
IS THE SPIRIT AWARE OF THE MATTER?
Is the spirit aware of the mat-
ter? Woah! Big question. Explore
that query here with works by
Ragnhei!ur Gestsdóttir, Sigrún
Hrólfsdóttir and Sindri Leifsson in an
exhibition that explores the systems
that mankind has created for itself
throughout history. Think social,
economic, political, cultural and very
serious stu(.
• Runs until February 28th, 2021

MUTT GALLERY
Úlfur Karlsson - 2+2=5
Úlfur's works explore the mindset
of those that grew up surrounded
by cartoons with only vague news
about far away wars and tragedies.
It's a mix of pop culture and satire
that underlines how entertainment
is both a refuge—and a distrac-
tion—from reality.
• Runs until February 19th, 2021

+ULA GALLERY
Undirlög
Here, Sunneva Ása Weisshappel
displays the art of the process. "My
subjects in painting are the subject
of living moments and the external
and internal state of the human
being," she explains. "I work with the
fusion of mind and body and use life
as a research platform."
• Runs until February 28th, 2021

FLÆ)I
A ROOM FOR RENT IN 101
Presenting the first exhibition by
Alda Ægisdóttir, where the artist
uses di(erent media to dive into an
inner dimension that mirrors the
harrassment of modern society.
• Runs until February 21st, 2021
February 12th-March 11th
American Dreams
Until February 20th - Gallery Port
Remember Amer-
ica? That country
with a relatively
undramatic gov-
ernment that we
rarely hear about
in the news? Well,
photographer
Snorri Sturluson
documented that
obscure land
from 2001 until
2017, doing his
best to capture
the heart of the
United States and
the psychological
reality of those
who live there.
This is Snorri’s first
photographic
exhibition in Reyk-
javík, though he’s
done shows in
New York and Los
Angeles—towns
on the coasts of
America, if you
haven’t heard
of them—so at
least we know the
locals accepted
him. Expect to see
things like high
school football
teams, old school
diners, tower-
ing skyscrapers
next to bodegas
and those other
things that make
America the “land
of the free” as
well as the “a
place with private
prisons.” We
pledge allegiance.
HJC

Ghost Of A Ghost
Until March 13th -
Hverfisgallerí
You read our
feature, right?
Well one its stars,
Helena Margrét
Jónsdóttir, just
opened her
exhibition, ‘Ghost
Of A Ghost’, at
Hverfisgallerí. It’s
inspired by those
times where you
see someone who
is just a shadow
of themself or
not really pres-
ent—acting like a
ghost, one might
say. HJC

Raw Power
Feb. 18th-May
30th - Hafnarhús
Established stun-
ner Erró is joinin$
forces with a
number of up-
and-comin$ Ice-
landic artists to
create a dialo$ue
between himself
and the newbies.
A lar$e number
of the subjects
of this issue’s
feature are to be
included. By the
way, this Erró $uy
looks promisin$.
we anticipate
he'll be bi$ some-
day. HJC

Apertures
Until February
27th - Ber$ Con-
temporary
For one piece in
‘Apertures’, Haral-
dur Jónsson vis-
ited a paint store,
cut his finger and
got the colour
diagnosed. He
subsequently
bought five litres
of said colour and
used it all to paint
an opening for
the gallery. That’s
all we need to
know to visit. We'll
be cosplaying
as sex icon Lady
Macbeth. HJC
Gar!atorg 1· Gar!abær
Open Tue - Sun 12 -17
Exhibitions:

100% Wool
Closing January 31

Designer in Residence - !rúrarí
Opening January 21

Icelandic Ceramics 1930 – 1970
Opening February 13