LAXNESS TRANSLATED
Halldór Laxness writes this description of a grandmother in his book The Fish Can Sing. It is a description which can be adapted to describe Laxness’ own writing. It is [&hellip
SÆVAR KARL´S GALLERY: THE SUITS WON’T SPOIL IT
The exhibition space is simple and serene. Its discrete ambiance makes it feel like a peculiar haven, distinctly sans-fashion. But there’s no getting around it: it’s weird for
A House of Culture
Parked right in the heart of Reykjavík is a house with the motto of being “at the heart of a nation”. This majestic building is none other than the Culture […]
In the footsteps of fictional characters
The City Library organises guided walking tours around Reykjavík centre, where scenes of great Icelandic literature are visited. There is a guide who delicately blends the world o
MAN BITES SHARK
And then there are the huge green eggs spotted with black dots: seagull and blackbird eggs. I’ve seen them eaten raw before, right in front of the counter. Who buys […]
Guerilla Theatre of the Absurd
“So there’s this chef and this hotel reception clerk. And they’re just standing in the middle of Kringlan. One is standing on top of a planter and the other one […]
Shopping in Front of Suffering
It is, of course, to say the least, disconcerting; the sorrow and scars hit us brutally under the bright mall light. But the photos serve to remind us that not […]
THE KIND OF MUSEUM YOU WANT TO LIVE IN
The museum (called quite literally “Museum” or “Collection” in Icelandic) faces Laugavegur, but looking in the window it is difficult to discern how extensive the collectio
“Is this paper clip art?”
Upon entering the shop I was surrounded by chunks of lava that you could pick up on your way to the airport. There were abstract landscape paintings that were perfect […]
Orthodontists, Artists and Hairstylists to the Stars
The gallery is situated within a cluster of old structures which, in the diffused evening light, add an aesthetic contribution of their own. An abandoned wool factory looms authori
EINAR MÁR
Einar Már Gudmundson is driving me back to 101 Reykjavík from his suburban home in his soccer mom-style SUV. He turns off the Icelandic news and puts on a full-band, […]
OPPS! “I DIDN’T DO IT” AGAIN
From playwriting to installation art, painting to photography, books to documentary film, he´s done it, and nearly all of it will be featured June 11th through August 8th at the [
A LONG TIME AGO IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY…
The exhibition is a collection of dissimilar artworks by various artists who are united by their method of expression. The exhibition has normal, almost mundane things that no one
Building something out of nothing.
In one of those rare instances of the rich giving to the poor, the National Bank of Iceland decided to practically give an office building to artists to use as […]
KJARVALS OTHER PLACE
Jóhannes Kjarval is one of those names in Icelandic art that made it even to the briefest of brief tourist brochures, and not only because he, just like his literary […]
THE CORONATION OF POPPEA
Hindus maintain that you should dedicate yourself to your spouse, and then when grey hair starts setting in, you should go up on a mountain and meditate on spiritual matters. [&hel
HOW COLD THE SCRIPTORIUM IS TODAY
If other nations were as considerate as the Danes are, the exhibition halls at the British Museum or Louvre would be gapingly empty and the citizens of Egypt and Greece […]
BEHIND THE EYES OF LOVE
On the 9th of August three artists; Eirún Sigurðardóttir, Jóní Jónsdóttir and Sigrún Hrólfsdóttir, also known as “The Icelandic Love Corporation”, will be opening a n
CARVING OUT THE TRUTH
Teddi is a hearty looking 60 something, a former firefighter and sailor, He is also a woodcarver, and says the reason he originally took up woodcarving was all the dead […]
Free thinkers
When I first heard about this new society of young artists renting a warehouse by the harbour, it was from my flatmate’s friend, who was drunk out of his mind. […]
SIGURJÓN ÓLAFSSON MUSEUM
It seems that once an Icelander gets his hands on a paintbrush or a chisel, there is no stopping him. The same hunger for new discoveries that drove Icelanders to […]