Exhibition Opening: Invasion II – Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir / Shoplifter

The exhibition Invasion II by Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir / Shoplifter will be opened in Reykjavík Art Museum – Ásmundarsafn, on Saturday, April 21st, at 16:00.

The second invader into the exhibition Art for the People in Ásmundarsafn is Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir / Shoplifter. Hrafnhildur is known for her vibrant and intense approach to her subject and the exhibition in Ásmundarsafn is no exception. In her unique fashion, she challenges the work of sculptor Ásmundur Sveinsson and the museum building itself.

Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir (b. 1969) lives and works in New York and has exhibited her work all over the world, including a recent series of extensive installations called Nervescape which among other places was exhibited at the 8th Momentum Nordic Biennale of Contemporary Art in Moss, Norway in 2015; in The Queensland Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, Australia in 2016; and at the Los Angeles Philharmonic last year. She is primarily known for large and colourful installations made from hair, and other work where hair plays the title role. Her work is extremely contradictory, the delicate material and craft meets the clutter and the grotesque. Hrafnhildur, who works under the name Shoplifter has worked on various other projects, for example creating costumes for Björk Guðmundsdóttir and clothing for the international label & Other Stories.

Hrafnhildur´s invasion into Ásmundarsafn is based on light, colours and shadows, connecting her own work to Ásmundur Sveinsson´s. She shares with him a fearlessness in exploring the material´s possibilities. As in previous work she plays around on the brink of the ridiculous, where humour and beauty are interlaced.

Curator is Sigurður Trausti Traustason. Elsa Yeoman, the chairwoman of Reykjavík Council of Culture and Tourism, opens the exhibition.

On Sunday, April 22nd, at 14:00, Hrafnhildur / Shoplifter herself will host a guided tour of the exhibition.

There will be four INVASIONS into the exhibition Art for the People in 2018, where selected works by Ásmundur Sveinsson will temporarily be replaced with the works of new artists. The first invasion is over, where Guðmundur Thoroddsen exhibited his work among Ásmundur´s work. Hrafnhildur´s / Shoplifter´s exhibition will come to an end on August 12th, followed by Mattías Rúnar Sigurðsson and finally Margrét Helga Sesseljudóttir. They all create sculptures from different materials and their work throws an interesting light on the development of three-dimensional art, its materials and subjects.