Santiago Sierra

20 January – 15 April 2012

The Spanish artist Santiago Sierra shocks people with his radical and provocative works that challenge the audience‘s sense of propriety. Sierra has been accused of abusing the miserable situation of less fortunate people by paying them for participating in his works with forms of compensation that many consider extremely problematic.

(I)ndependent People: Collaborations and Artist Initiatives

19 May — 2 September

(I)ndependent People asks if and how collaboration can operate in negotiation between contesting ideas and desires, and yet allow for unplanned action. This large-scale collaborative is organized by the Reykjavik Arts Festival and takes place in a cluster of museums, galleries, artist-run spaces and institutions in the capital area in addition with seminars and related events.

Erró – Graphic Art, 1949 – 2009

1 September 2012 – 25 August 2013

For the first time the general public are able to view Erró’s graphic art spanning half a century. The exhibition is the result of three years’ work researching and collating the artist’s entire collection of graphic pieces undertaken by Danielle Kvaran, the exhibition curator.

HA – Sara Björnsdóttir

15 September 2012 – 6 January 2013

In the HA installation Sara Björnsdóttir breaks up the immutable space of exhibition room A with living images of the space itself which flow into one another to create a new dimension, an ever-changing optical illusion which makes it possible for the visitor to delve into the space more deeply and to orient himself to its connection with art, the present moment and his own presence in the exhibition space.

News from the Island - Dan Perjovschi

15 September 2012 – 6 January 2013

Dan Perjovschi (b. 1961) works with cartoon and “indoor graffiti”. He draws directly on walls and floors at different locations. His drawings criticize all manner of ‘popular opposites that flood the mass media, shaping our lifestyles and seeping into our thinking via advertising, value clichés, prejudices and narcissist over-estimation of the self.

My dreamland in the North – Karen Agnete Þórarinsson

14 January – 4 March 2012

The painter Karen Agnete (1903-1992) was one of many Danish women who married an Icelander and moved with their husbands back to Iceland from Copenhagen in the first half of the 20th century, after both having studied at the Danish Art Academy.

Hangman's Rock - The Delirium of Vision

2 June — 26 August

For about a quarter of a century the painter Jóhannes Kjarval frequented a secluded place in the Garðahraun lava field south of Hafnarfjörður called Hangman’s Rock.

The Lyric Vision – Abstract-Expressionism in Icelandic Art, 1957-1970

8 September – 4 November

As the first retrospective exhibition of Icelandic abstract expressionism, this exhibition marks a watershed in the history of exhibitions of Icelandic artists in this country.

Mindplay and Fingerdance – Ragnheiður Jónsdóttir’s career in art

17 November 2012 –

During her forty year career the prolific and influential artist Ragnheiður Jónsdóttir has produced works which still live on in the popular imagination of Icelanders.

Kjarval Complete

21 December 2012 - 20 May 2013

Workshop

17 November 2012 - 20 May 2013

Thoughts in forms

18 April 2012

In the pyramid Ásmundur’s studio has been recreated, to give an idea of his working environment in Sigtún. In a reading room, visitors can learn more about the artist’s life and work.

Magnús Árnason - Homage

30 April 2011 - 22 April 2012

Magnús Árnason´s installation Homage, in the dome of the Ásmundarsafn art museum, refers to Louis Pasteur´s (1822-1895) experiment who´s findings conflicted with the theory of spontaneous generation.

From Sketch to Sculpture - Drawings by Ásmundur Sveinsson

30 April 2011 - 22 April 2012

The exhibition From Sketch to Sculpture – Drawings by Ásmundur Sveinsson presents a small insight into the rich collection of drawings by the sculptor Ásmundur Sveinsson.

The Fire Within

5 May 2012 – 28 April 2013

Many of Ásmundur Sveinsson‘s sculptures disclose his agile feelings and reflect his painful loss and heartache. This exhibition in Ásmundur Sveinsson Scuplpture Museum builds on material from the artist‘s emotional quick; a new approach to his body of work.