Ragnar Kjartansson
dal 9/3/2011 al 3/9/2011
Segnalato da
9/3/2011
Ragnar Kjartansson
Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh
Song. The exhibition includes a selection of video works from the last decade, as well as a newly created three-week-long performance for the museum's Hall of Sculpture. Kjartansson's videos reflect an interest in music and theater and the personae of its performers, often coupled with extreme environments. In addition to his video work, Kjartansson has become known for inhabiting galleries and more unexpected locations where he performs live, often for extended periods. Song is the first solo US museum exhibition of the work of Ragnar Kjartansson.
Ragnar Kjartansson: Song is the first solo US museum exhibition of the work of Ragnar Kjartansson. A musician as well as artist, Kjartansson (b. 1976) has been drawn to the theater and performance since he formed a band in his teenage years. The exhibition will include a selection of video works from the last decade, as well as a newly created three-week-long performance for the museum’s Hall of Sculpture. (Schedule for this performance is below.)
Kjartansson’s videos reflect an interest in music and theater and the personae of its performers, often coupled with extreme environments. The End (2008) features two musicians in a mountainous snowy landscape, while Satan is Real (2005) finds the naked artist buried to his chest in the lawn of a public park, playing a guitar.
In addition to his video work, Kjartansson has become known for inhabiting galleries and more unexpected locations where he performs live, often for extended periods. For the 2009 Venice Biennale, he painted portraits of his friend, day in and day out, for six months, in a crumbling palazzo on Venice’s Grand Canal. The ornate stone room was eventually filled with hundreds of oil paintings and the aggregate ephemera of days spent in each other’s company. A “social sculpture” emerged from the accumulation of painting, palazzo, friends, trash, musical instruments, and exhibition visitors watching the artist and subject at work.
Kjartansson’s approach wavers between a besotted optimism and a deadpan, sometimes unnerving, directness. Ritual, repetition, and an almost hallucinogenic reverie share the stage with humor, levity, and a charismatic impulse to entertain.
Related programs: Opening Reception and Culture Club, March 10; Off the Wall: An Evening with Ragnar Kjartansson and Friends, March 24.
The performance in the Hall of Sculpture will take place daily from March 10–27, 2011 (excluding Mondays, and Saturday, March 19, 2011) according to the following schedule:
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday: 10 a.m.–1 p.m., 2–5 p.m.
Thursday: 1–4 p.m., 5–8 p.m.
Sunday: noon–2:30 p.m., 3–5 p.m.
This exhibition is organized by Dan Byers, associate curator of contemporary art.
Ragnar Kjartansson: Song is the 66th installment of Carnegie Museum of Art’s Forum series. Major support for this exhibition is provided by The Fellows of Carnegie Museum of Art, the Virginia Kaufman Fund, and the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation, with presenting sponsorship provided by Rodgers Insurance Group and Motorists Mutual Insurance Company. Additional support is provided by Sandeman Port. Support is also provided by The American-Scandinavian Association.
Image: Ragnar Kjartansson, Icelandic, b. 1976; Satan is Real, 2005, video, from an edition of 3 and 2 artist's proofs; duration: 64 min., Courtesy of the artist, Luhring Augustine, New York, and Galleri i8, Reykjavik
Press contacts:
Ellen James 412.688.8690 jamese@carnegiemuseums.org
Carnegie Museum of Art
4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-4080
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Thursday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday: noon to 5 p.m.
Monday: Closed
Closed major holidays
Admission Adults: $15
Seniors (65+): $12
Students with ID/Children ages 3–18: $11
Members and children under 3: Free