Exhibition opening at Akureyri Art Museum
JÓHANNES S. KJARVAL
IN THE OPEN AIR
27.11.2025 – 17.05.2026
Gallery 08
Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval (1885-1972) holds a distinct place within Icelandic cultural and art history as a beloved artist. He was born in West Skaftafell-county but grew up from the age of four in Borgarfjörður eystri. At the beginning of the century, he travelled and studied far and wide, within Iceland and abroad, working various jobs alongside creating his art. He first studied with Ásgrímur Jónsson in Reykjavík, then started his studies at The Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen graduating in 1917.
Alone in nature Kjarval was content, camping and painting, in the open air. In a certain dell near Ketilstaðir farm in Hjaltastaðaþinghá is his summer cottage, where he, among other things painted some of his most memorable landscapes and his drawings of the common people of Borgarfjörður eystri are among his best-known work.
This exhibition consists of several unexhibited works the majority is from East Iceland Heritage Museum‘s collection which also takes care of his summer cottage.
Curator: Sigríður Örvarsdóttir. Advisors: Edda Halldórsdóttir art historian and Kristín Gísladóttir conservator.
The exhibition is a collaboration between Akureyri Art Museum and East Iceland Heritage Museum.
The exhibition is inspired by a collection of articles titled Creative Responses to Environmental Crises in Nordic Art and Literature (2025), that sheds light on the complex and important role of visual arts, literature and other creative industries, when dealing with a changed world because of climate change and other environmental crises. Works by artists addressed in the articles will be exhibited, as well as by others who relate to the main themes of the anthology: interconnectivity, complex systems, the value of diversity and deconstruction of hierarchy.
The exhibition mirrors the interplay between the local and the global in environmental activism. It will first be held in Copenhagen where Danish artists will participate. When the exhibition comes to Akureyri Art Museum, more emphasis will be placed on local context.
Creative Responses is a collaborative project between the University of Iceland’s Research Centre in Þingeyjarsveit, Gallery Specta and Akureyri Art Museum.
GROUP EXHIBITION
CREATIVE RESPONSES
27.11.2025 – 08.02.2026
Galleries 10 11
Participants: a Snæfellsjökuls rawlings, Aurora Robson, Bolatta Silis-Høegh, Björg Eiríksdóttir, Camilla Thorup, Hekla Dögg Jónsdóttir, Hákon Oddsson, Hildur Hákonardóttir, Hrafnkell Sigurðsson, Jóna Hlíf Halldórsdóttir, Kristinn Már Pálmason, Laura Ortman, Peter Holst Henckel, Rún Árnadóttir, Sigga Björg Sigurðardóttir, Sigrún Hrólfsdóttir og Þórdís Aðalsteinsdóttir.
Students from Þingeyjarskóli also participate in the exhibition: Ellý Hjaltalín Hayhurst, Noah Hjaltalín Hayhurst, Bjartur Ingi Gunnarsson, Hildur Ósk Gunnarsdóttir, Þór Sæmunsson, Hrefna Bragadóttir.
Curators: Auður Aðalsteinsdóttir and Þórdís Aðalsteinsdóttir.