CONTEMPORARY ART in Reykjanesbær

Explore the work of visual artist Snorri Ásmundsson

Reykjanesbær Art Museum is an excellent space for locals and tourists to explore contemporary art in Iceland, just minutes from Keflavik International Airport. The museum, which occupies an impressive 800 square metres, features carefully curated exhibitions that rotate throughout the year.

The current exhibition, which is on view until October, features work by visual artist Snorri Ásmundsson in the retrospective, Interloper. Snorri’s art is not fiction or a well-fed ‘alter-ego’; the artist is said to have no acting talent. For this reason, it is fair, perhaps, to maintain that Snorri is the most exquisite living work of art in Icelandic art history. Snorri can only be compared to the British artists Gilbert and George, who perform their lives as living sculptures, where the material is the British persona and the semiology surrounding that identity.

Thus, Snorri Ásmundsson’s retrospective exhibition is also biographical, and guests may enjoy this artist’s diverse body of work. The backbone of the production is based on eleven known, authentic performances that the entire Icelandic nation witnessed in real-time; these are the Conservative, the Presidential Candidate, Europe’s Best Piano Player, Beauty Swift Revolution, Pyramid of Love, the Priest, the Letters of Indulgence Salesman, Master Hilarion, the Queen of the Mountains, the Chairman of the Cat Campaign, and Hatikvah. In addition, the exhibition includes dozens of paintings and photographs.

Snorri’s art involves doing something without fear or regret. Not thinking about what might go wrong but rather focusing on what may go to plan. This invisible hurdle between an individual and their goal, whether to become a president or a priest or release a Christmas album, is non-existent in Snorri. The trick is to try and see what happens, just giving it a go and hoping for the best. He sees no reason to take himself too seriously; the worries and the self-doubt are absent.

Interloper was curated by Helga Þórsdóttir, and the exhibition is on view until October.

2023 is a special year as the museum celebrates its 20th anniversary. In 2003, the museum started with about 200 pieces of art, ranging from paintings to sculptures. Today, there are almost 1,500 pieces of artwork in the collection. Art lovers must stop by Reykjanesbær Art Museum during their holiday in Iceland!