New times in Icelandic Photography

Last year, a joint project of the Reykjavik Art Museum, The National Museum of Iceland and the Moscow House of Photography resulted in an exhibition entitled Icelandic Photography - Retrospective that was presented in Moscow in November 2002.

The exhibition showed on the one hand, life in Iceland around 1900 through a selection of the most treasured photographs of the Department of Photography and Prints in the National Museum in Iceland, and on the other it presented an overview of what is happening in Icelandic photography today.  A selection of some of the best contemporary Icelandic photography was chosen for this and in all, works by 28 photographers and artists were selected for this presentation, showing almost 130 photographs.  It was decided that this selection should also be made available to a museum audience in Iceland; thus, these works form the core of this exhibition at Kjarvalsstadir.

It is the objective of this exhibition not to limit the medium but to show works that are extremely different in both style and perspective.  here you find works of photographers that have renewed the old imagery of the landscape tradition, reflectiong the land and light with a knowledgeable sensitivity, but there are also others that handle nature in a more sombre and poetic way.

Introduction by Eirikur Thorlaksson

Article by Einar Falur Ingolfsson photograper.