Ragnar Kjartansson (IS)

Ragnar Kjartansson engages multiple artistic mediums, creating video installations, performances, drawings, and paintings that draw upon myriad historical and cultural references. An underlying pathos and irony connect his works, with each deeply influenced by the comedy and tragedy of classical theater. Kjartansson blurs the distinctions between mediums, approaching his painting practice as performance, likening his films to paintings, and his performances to sculpture. Throughout, Kjartansson conveys an interest in beauty and its banality, and he uses durational, repetitive performance as a form of exploration.

Ragnar Kjartansson (b. 1976, Reykjavík; IS) lives and works in Reykjavík, Iceland. His work is included in major collections such as the De Pont Museum (NL); the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (DK); the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (US) and Kunstmuseum Stuttgart (DE). Recent solo exhibitions include: the Barbican Art Gallery (UK); the High Museum of Art (US) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (US).