Iceland review - 2015, Qupperneq 75

ICELAND REVIEW 73
ART
At some point in the 17th century, the sheriff’s wife in
Bustarfell, East Iceland, dreamt that she was being
led into a boulder inhabited by elves. Inside, a
hidden woman was in labor. The sheriff’s wife helped her
with the delivery, and to repay her kindness, the hidden
woman gave her a skillfully-embroidered golden cloth
with inwrought flowers, angels and mythical women.
When the sheriff’s wife woke up, the cloth was still there.
She treasured it dearly. The cloth ended up being used as
the antependium in the church at Hof in Vopnafjörður.
HOUSE OF CULTURE
Now, the unique elf cloth, the origin of which remains a
mystery, is on display in the exhibition Points of View in
Safnahúsið, the Culture House in Reykjavík. Opened on
April 18 and planned to run for several years, the exhibi-
tion celebrates the Icelandic visual art heritage from the
Middle Ages to the present day. “It’s a modern approach
to art, a dialogue across centuries and art forms,” explains
Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir, director general of the National
Museum of Iceland and the Culture House, which were
merged in 2013. The exhibition, which has been in prepa-
ration for many years, includes artifacts and artwork from
six major museums: the National Museum, National
Gallery, Natural History Museum, National Archives,
National and University Library and Árni Magnússon
Institute.
“The Culture House was originally built to facilitate
these museums in 1909. These institutions, which took
their first steps here in this house, are now coming
together again. They have their roots here and now
the canopy becomes intertwined
through the exhibition,” muses
Margrét. Designed by Danish archi-
tect Johannes Magdahl Nielsen, the
Culture House bears witness to the
grandeur and optimism of the early
20th century, and the Icelanders’
respect for their history and cultur-
al heritage, Margrét reasons. The
Culture House is now under pres-
ervation, which had to be taken into
consideration when the exhibition
was designed. “The exhibition is
based on the story of the preserved
building and designed on its terms.
This beautiful building elevates the
exhibition.”
From the viewpoint in, inside a room dedicated to the home. Anna Líndal
dedicates her ceramics, cutlery and thread sculpture to the work of the
housewife.
In the same room. Up against the wall is a sculpture by Guðjón Ketilsson made of used furniture. In
the display table are pieces of traditional and untraditional embroidery and fabric samples from the
18th century, among other items.