Reykjavík Grapevine - apr. 2022, Síða 21

Art Picks
21The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 04— 2022
Art Exhibitions
Gallery openin!s, happenin!s, showin!s and pop-up
exhibitions all around the capital re!ion.
Send details of yours to: events@!rapevine.is
Opening
KLING OG BANG
Three Rearrangements -
A Commonality Of Escape
This exhibition features brand new,
site-specific works by Daníel Ágúst
Ágústsson, Pétur Magnússon, Pier
Yves Larouche & Richard Müller. The
enigmatic press release says little
more, and there’s not much on the
gallery website either. But we trust
the peeps at Kling og Bang to always
be on point when it comes to cura-
tion. You know it’s gonna be a goody,
so just go.
• Opens on April 2nd
• Runs until May 15th
REYKJAVÍK ART MUSEUM ! HAFNARHÚS
Erró: The Power of Images
Erró is undoubtedly Iceland’s best-
known visual artist internationally. The
Reykjavík Art Museum is custodian
of nearly 4000 pieces of the artist's
work a$er he began donating them
in the 1980s, and this exhibition of
more than 300 of them is the most
extensive showing of the artist's works
ever seen in Iceland. Videos, graphics,
multiples and collages—with larger
works in public spaces, and paintings
of all scales— showcase Erro’s eclectic
appropriation of imagery from every
possible domain.
• Opens on April 9th
• Runs until September 29th
Ongoing
ÁSMUNDARSALUR
Destination Mars
The work of Sara Riel, one of Ice-
land’s most celebrated gra%ti art-
ists, will be instantly familiar to many
Reykvíkingur. Think of ‘Furry Flight’,
the woolly fish/bird/thing painted on
the side of that house in Njálsgata.
Or ‘Glitur’, the big blue scaly mural on
the gable end of the fishing industry
building on Sæbraut. In this exhibi-
tion, Sara uses a range of creative
techniques to compare the grandi-
osity of mankind’s achievements in
space exploration with his cosmic
insignificance.
• Runs until April 24th
REYKJAVÍK MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Random Moments
The Museum of Photography has
long been the repository of Iceland’s
photographic history, amassing
more than 6.5 million film-originated
images over the last four decades.
In more recent years, digital tech-
niques have allowed the creation of
an image database to include text
relevant to the image from publica-
tions. This exhibition uses the collec-
tion’s search facility to conjure up
combinations of images through
text, allowing photographic mo-
ments to become related through
particular words.
• Runs until November 19th
GALLERÍ GRÓTTA
This Is Not Nature
Nature appears in various ways in
the works of the three artists stag-
ing this exhibition, Ásdís Arnardót-
tir, Kristbjörg Olsen and &orger#ur
Jörundsdóttir. However, as the title
suggests the works are not nature
itself, but the experience and feel-
ing of each di'erent artist regard-
ing the relationship between man
and nature.
• Runs until April 30th
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 April 18th
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
I8 GRANDI
In Relation To The Sun
i8 Grandi is a new exhibition space,
the unique concept of which is to
focus on year-long shows by single
artists. The exhibitions will evolve
while on view, allowing their cre-
ators to reflect how the passage of
time alters their work and encour-
age repeat viewings to observe
those changes. This inaugural
exhibition by Alicja Kwade encom-
pases installation, sculpture and
work on paper. Its title—initially “In
Relation To The Sun”—will change as
the nature of the pieces on display
evolves.
• Runs until December 22nd
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.
Tread Carefully
This exhibition presents the work
of art students from the University
of Iceland and from the University
of the Arts in dialogue with that of
sculptor Einar Jónsson. The artists
hope to make links between the
past and the present, using the
spaces in and around the historic
building that houses the permanent
exhibit of Jónsson’s works.
• Runs until April 10th
NORDIC HOUSE
Even A Worm Will Turn
The relationship between man and
other creatures is probed by this
exhibition, featuring work by Jaakko
Pallasvuo, Viktor Timofeev, Josefin
Arnell and Kolbeinn Hugi. Man names
the other animals, imposes ideologi-
cal and moralistic ideas on them,
anthropomorphises them, assumes
dominion and tries to influence their
behaviour. How does all this a'ect
interspecies relations?
• Runs until April 17th

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
REYKJAVÍK ART MUSEUM !
KJARVALSSTA"IR
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
GALLERY PORT
Hotel Saga: A Place In Time
Photographer Hákon Pálsson
captured the images that make up
this exhibition on one day in July
2021, some eight months a$er his
subject—the Hotel Saga in Reyk-
javík—had been abandoned. The
Saga had been a shining example
of international modernism, and
Hákon’s work examines the idea of
a building which openly sought to
eliminate all connection to its loca-
tion and its history.
• Runs until April 14th

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ICELAND
Staged Moments
This expansive exhibition features
some 41 photographic 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
Immune / Ónæm
This exhibition is the result of a
two-year collaboration between an
international group of 11 artists,
designers and academics. The
work deals with colonization, queer
ecosystems, extractive capitalism
and nationalism based on a specific
reference point: the 18th-century
book ‘Travels in Iceland’ by Eggert
Ólafsson and Bjarni Pálsson, and the
imagery of nature it presents.
• Runs until May 1st
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ICELAND
Straumnes
During the cold war the U.S. military
operated a radar station at Straum-
nes(all, a remote coastal location in
the West(ords. A$er the Americans
le$, the area was eventually cleaned
up and le$ to regrow. Local photog-
rapher Marínó Thorlacius reflects
the beauty of nature, captured
among the residue of the aban-
doned military installation.
• Runs until May 1st
HARPA
Circuleight
This immersive light and sound in-
stallation is inspired by elements of
natural Iceland: lava, basalt, glaciers,
water, flora, algae, microorgan-
isms and volcanic gas. Visuals are
provided by American arts organisa-
tion Artechouse, accompanied by an
original score from Högni Egilsson.
Circuleight is open from noon until
18:00 every day, and takes 20 min-
utes to experience.
• Runs until May 31st
REYKJAVÍK MARITIME MUSEUM
Ó#inn Coast Guard Vessel
Take a guided tour around this for-
mer guardian of Icelandic waters.
April 1st — May 5th

Volcanoroids
Until April 13th - Mosfellsbær Art
Gallery, &verholt 2, 270 Mosfellsbær
One year on from
lava first breach-
ing the earth’s
crust to create
Iceland’s pet vol-
cano on the Reyk-
janes peninsula,
photographer
Gu#mundur Óli
Pálmason opened
this exhibit of
his images of
the eruptions. Of
course the vol-
cano was a much-
photographed
phenomenon,
with the imagery
o$en pristine,
hi-res and gener-
ated by drone.
But Gu#mundur’s
approach was
di'erent.
In line with his
long-standing
love of obsolete
photographic film
techniques, (as
displayed in his
recent exhibition
‘Yfirgefin List’
at The Reykja-
vík Museum Of
Photography),
Gu#mundur
has utilised and
twisted the me-
dium of Polaroid
peel-apart pics
to create unique
expressions of
the eruptions.
The film was o$en
long past its sell-
by date, and the
resulting visual
e'ects—along
with the artist’s
image manipula-
tion via the use of
hazardous materi-
als—have created
liquid colours and
vibrant textures
that invite paral-
lels with the lava
flow itself. JP

Vi#arverk
Until April 23rd - Hverfisgallerí
Björn Loki and Elsa
Jónsdóttir, (a.k.a.
Krot & Krass), have
been creating
together for over
a decade now. In
their first exhibi-
tion at Hverfis-
gallerí as a duo,
their dri$wood
and concrete
sculptures draw
parallels between
the wood washing
up on Icelandic
shores with the
ideas and people
who continue to
arrive here from
across the sea. 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.

Careless Whispers
Until June 19th - National Gallery of
Iceland
Careless Whispers
features paintings
by Birgir Snæbjörn
Birgisson made
between 2015 and
2022. The images
in this collection
appear to be fad-
ing and vanishing,
ephemeral and
impermanent. The
artist’s approach
seems to be to
whisper to the
viewer, stimulating
and heightening
the senses, and
seducing them to
follow. JP

Spatial Infractions
Until August 7th - Reykjavík Art
Museum at Ásmundarsafn
Rósa Gísladóttir
exhibits her work
in conversation
with that of Ice-
landic sculpture
pioneer Ásmundur
Sveinsson. Rósa
is best known for
her creations in
the medium of
plaster, but she
o$en references
architecture in
her work and here
will use Ásmundar-
safn, the museum
building itself, as a
sculpture. JP