Reykjavík Grapevine - feb. 2022, Blaðsíða 21

Art Picks
21The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 02— 2022
Exhibitions
For complete listin!s and detailed information on
venues, visit !rapevine.is/happenin!
Send your listin!s to: events@!rapevine.is
Opening
GALLERY FOLD
Mountain Of Forgotten Dreams
French artist Anne Herzog works
in the media of painting, drawing,
photography and film, as well as
expressing her ideas through per-
formance. For a couple of decades
now she has returned frequently to
Snæfellsjökull, drawn to the glacier-
capped volcano as a source of inspi-
ration. She reflects the Snæfellsnes
area through a range of visual me-
dia, but in this exhibition, paintings
and drawings predominate.
• Opens on February 7th
• Runs until February 19th
Ongoing
GER!ARSAFN KÓPAVOGUR ART MUSEUM
Ad Infinitum
Icelandic artists Elín Hansdóttir and
Úlfur Hansson work in Berlin and New
York respectively, but have come
together to create this installation
exploring the borders between the
art that we see, and that which we
hear. Elín’s approach is to create
challenging immersive visuals, while
Úlfur’s specialism in audio creation
leads him to create sounds specific
to the space.
• Runs until March 27th
Past Perfect
Although he now lives in Sweden
and was educated in the USA, artist
Santiago Mostyn grew up in Zimba-
bwe and Trinidad and Tobago. This
exhibition of photography and video
media explores that experience,
employing footage of historical
events, politicians and cultural
figures. Past Perfect is a landscape
where stories of colonialism, slavery,
legends and personal experience
converge.
• Runs until March 27th
HAFNARBORG CENTRE OF CULTURE AND
FINE ARTS
A Few Thoughts on Photography –
Vol. III
Photographer Hallger$ur Hall-
grímsdóttir explores how taking a
photograph can seem so simple—
"just the push of a button"—mak-
ing the resulting image almost an
objet trouvé rather than a creation.
But creative it is; mysterious and
emotional, with aesthetics and
instincts coming into play. And yet,
at the same time, the process of
photography is decidedly rooted in
the scientific.
• Runs until March 2022
MUSEUM OF DESIGN AND APPLIED ART
Bathing Culture
The outdoor geothermal pool is the
most interesting public sphere in
Iceland. A place where strangers
cross paths and acquaintances
meet, it is a source of wellbeing
and a major part of everyday life
for many. This exhibition traces the
development of Icelandic bathing
culture, showing how architects and
designers, pool sta% and the public
have together shaped the story.
• Runs until September 25th
NATIONAL GALLERY OF ICELAND
Muggur
Gu$mundur Thorsteinsson led a
full life, though it was cut short by
tuberculosis. This exhibit presents
a wide selection of his work, cre-
ated under his artist name Muggur,
including scenes from his global
travels, images of a merciful Christ
curing the sick, and Muggur’s fan-
tasy worlds where princesses live in
castles and trolls lurk.
• Runs until February 13th
EINAR JÓNSSON MUSEUM
Permanent Exhibition
In 1909 Einar Jónsson—described
on the museum's website as "Ice-
land's first sculptor"—o%ered all of
his works as a gi& to the Icelandic
people, on the condition that a mu-
seum be built to house them.
The resulting edifice, constructed
just over the road from Hallgrím-
skirkja, now contains close to 300
artworks. There is also a beautiful
garden with 26 bronze casts of the
artist’s sculptures to enjoy.
REYKJAVÍK CITY MUSEUM
Settlement Exhibition
This permanent exhibition— where
Viking ruins meet digital technol-
ogy—provides insight into Reykja-
vík's farms at the time of the first
settlers. Archaelogical remains
uncovered on site dating back to
871 AD surround you.
HAFNARBORG CENTRE OF CULTURE AND
FINE ARTS
Long Are The Trials Of Men
"orvaldur "orsteinsson was a
highly prolific artist who made use
of most artistic media over his
career, including music and writing
in the form of novels, plays and
poetry. However this retrospective
exhibit features the visual aspects
to "orvaldur’s creativity, focusing on
the sculptures, installation pieces,
paintings and video which bear tes-
tament to his diverse creativity.
• Runs until February 20th

REYKJAVÍK MARITIME MUSEUM
Ó#inn Coast Guard Vessel
Take a guided tour around this for-
mer guardian of Icelandic waters.
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.
REYKJAVÍK ART MUSEUM " HAFNARHÚS
Erró The Traveller
Gu$mundur Gu$mundsson—ubiqui-
tously known as Erró—has arguably
the highest international profile of any
Icelandic visual artist. His activities
have taken him all around the world.
This exhibition—selected from work
that he has donated to the Reykjavík
Art Museum—is curated around a
travel theme.
• Runs until March 27th
A Bra Ka Da Bra -
The Magic Of Contemporary Art
This exhibition aims to open the
world of contemporary art up to a
new generation. The titular magic
word links magic and art in the
wonder that both can conjure up in
children and young people.
• Runs until March 20th

CULTURE HOUSE
Treasures Of A Nation
The Culture House was built in 1909,
and was the first purpose-built gal-
lery in Iceland. Towering above the
surrounding town at the time, it was
a popular spot to take in the natural
vistas which have inspired local art-
ists for centuries. This exhibit brings
together a selection of paintings
from the National Gallery, all inspired
by Iceland and created from the
19th century onwards.
• Runs until May 31st

BERG CONTEMPORARY
About Time - Diary of Twenty Months
Icelandic artist Einar Falur Ingólfs-
son is a former press snapper with
Morgunbla$i$, Iceland’s biggest
daily newspaper. Now a creative
photographer and writer, his cre-
ative weapon of choice is still his
large format camera. This exhibition
showcases a visual diary that he
tended over twenty months, ending
in the spring that the pandemic
came to stay. This collection’s strik-
ing images were taken during Einar’s
travels to Varanasi, Rome and Egypt…
back when travel was “a thing”.
• Runs until February 26th

GALLERÍ GROTTA
Upphaf
Artists Jóhanna V. "órhallsdóttir
and Hrönn Björnsdóttir used to run
Anarkía Art Gallery in Kópavogur
together, but these days they focus
more on creating and exhibiting
their own work. This collection of ex-
pressionist paintings are presented
through a range of mixed media,
and were all produced over the last
couple of years.
• Runs until February 12th
REYKJAVÍK ART MUSEUM "
KJARVALSSTA!IR
Budding Earth
Carl Boutard Ásmundur decribes
himself as a "traditional sculptor",
due to his focus on material and
form. The late Ásmundur Sveinsson
was a pioneer in Icelandic sculpture,
and in this exhibition Carl presents
selected works juxtaposed with
those of Ásmundur.
• Runs until February 6th
As Far As The Eye Can See
Birgir Andrésson was a leading light
in Icelandic art until his untimely
death in 2007. Taking influence from
all aspects of Icelandic life, legend
and culture, he presented them in a
unique and informed way, draw-
ing admiration from both local and
international art communities. This
retrospective brings together more
than a hundred of his works, includ-
ing some from international and
private collections.
• Runs until May 15th
HVERFISGALLERÍ
Recondestruction
Following a devastating avalanche
in Siglu'ör$ur, artist Hrafnkell Sig-
ur$sson saw opportunity among the
damage. Nature might smash lives,
but perhaps it’s the role of art to put
them back together. Perhaps once
our reality has been dismantled,
categorized and analysed, art is the
only way to reassemble it.
• Runs until February 12th

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ICELAND
Staged Moments
This expansive exhibition extends
across two halls of the National Gal-
lery, and features some 41 photo-
graphic artists. The work on show
spans the time between the 1970s
and the present day, and focuses on
demonstrating the diverse use of
photography as a creative medium.
The exhibition also reflects less
positive attitudes to photography
as a creative medium, based on the
inherent nature of the process as
one of mechanical reproduction.
• Runs until May 8th

THE LIVING ART MUSEUM
Conversation To The Self
Ásdís Sif Gunnarsdóttir lives and
works in Reykjavík, studied art in
New York and Los Angeles and focus-
es on video and performance art.
To quote the gallery website: “Ásdís'
works explore the intersection of
magical realism and the wonders of
nature through distortion, transfor-
mation and ritual. They have a hint
of poetic and impending turmoil.”
If that piques your interest, come
down to N(ló to see for yourself.
• Runs until March 6th
February 4th — March 3rd

Snertitaug
Until March 20th - Reykjavík Art
Museum at Hafnarhús, Try!!va!ata 17
Ásger$ur Birna
Björnsdóttir has
created a remark-
able body of work
which the gallery
website says “is
best described as
a photosensitive
installation”. The
focus is on the
flow and transfer
of energy, with
light, electricity
and particles the
main conveyors
of power. The ex-
hibition observes
the relationship
between nature
and technol-
ogy, between the
analogue earth
and the digital
world that we
have created. All
is interconnected,
and nothing hap-
pens without a
cause.
The name Sner-
titaug could be
translated as
“touching the
nerve”; evoking a
sense of action
and reaction, of
creating involun-
tary movement by
inciting electrical
impulses.
Ásger$ur gradu-
ated with a BA in
art from the Gerrit
Rietveld Academy
in Amsterdam in
2016, and went
on to exhibit her
work in Iceland
and abroad. This
show is part of
the museum’s
D46 series, in
which influential
emerging artists
are invited to hold
their first solo ex-
hibition in a public
museum. JP

Straumnes
Until May 1st - The National Museum of
Iceland, Su$urgata 41
During the cold
war the U.S.
military operated
a radar station at
Straumnes'all, a
remote coastal
location in the
West'ords. A&er
the Americans
le&, the area
was eventually
cleaned up and
le& to regrow. Lo-
cal photographer
Marínó Thorlacius
reflects the
beauty of nature,
captured among
the residue of
the abandoned
military installa-
tion. JP
MUSEUM OF DESIGN
AND APPLIED ART
GAR!ATORG 1
210 GAR!ABÆR
OPEN TUE–SUN 12–17
WWW.HONNUNARSAFN.IS Instagram Facebook honnunarsafn
EXHIBITIONS
BATHING CULTURE UNTIL 25.09.
BEHIND SCENES
ARCHIVING ARCHITECTURAL
DRAWINGS OF HÖGNA
SIGUR!AR DÓTTIR UNTIL 13.03.
RESIDENCY
STUDIO ALLSBER
PRODUCT DESIGNERS
UNTIL 08.05.

Sei$la
Until March 1st - NORR11,
Hverfisgata 18
Nylon tights are
the primary me-
dium and means
of production in
this exhibit by The
Icelandic Love
Corporation. The
exhibition takes
its title—which
means “resil-
ient”—from a
particular piece
which comprises
stones placed in
the feet of the
aforementioned
hosiery. Tights are
also used to cre-
ate interesting oil
paint prints. JP

518 Aukanætur
Until March 12th - Gallery Port,
Laugavegur 32
Eva Schram is a
Reykjavík artist
who works
mainly in analogue
photography,
and darkroom
processes. This
exhibit, part of
the Icelandic Pho-
tography Festival,
is a reflection
of the Icelandic
wilderness. Her
chosen medium
is a type of obso-
lescent film that
gives the subject
landscapes a de-
tached mystery,
yet brings them
closer to the
viewer. JP