Á foreldramorgnum er boðið upp á sérleiðsagnir um sýningar fyrir foreldra með ungabörn í rólegu umhverfi. Eldri systkini velkomin með. Frábært tækifæri fyrir foreldra og ung börn þeirra til að hittast og eiga rólega stund saman á safninu.  

Leiðsögn í boði frá 10.30 –11.30.   Í þetta sinn verður leiðsögbub yn yfirlitssýninguna Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir: Ósagt.

Á Kjarvalsstöðum er gott pláss fyrir barnavagna, aðstaða með skiptiborði og hljóðlátt rými fyrir brjóstagjöf. Hægt er að kaupa veitingar á Klömbrum bistro.  

Aðgöngumiði á safnið gildir. Frítt fyrir árskortshafa, menningarkortshafa og yngri en 18 ára.

At parent mornings, special guided tours of the exhibitions are offered for parents with infants in a calm and relaxed environment. Older siblings are also welcome. A wonderful opportunity for parents and their young children to meet, spend time together, and enjoy a peaceful moment at the museum.  

Guided tour available from 10:30–11:30.  

Kjarvalsstaðir offers ample space for strollers, facilities with a changing table, and a quiet area for breastfeeding. Refreshments can be purchased at Klambrar Bistro.  

Admission with museum ticket. Free for Annual pass- and Culture Card holders, free for visitors under 18.

Parents with young children are especially welcome to visit Kjarvalsstaðir on the first Tuesday of each month.

Parents’ Morning at Kjarvalsstaðir

Við bjóðum foreldra með ungabörn sérstaklega velkomin á Kjarvalsstaði fyrsta þriðjudag mánaðarins.

Foreldramorgunn á Kjarvalsstöðum

Fjölmenning

Leiðsögn

Í Listasafni Reykjavíkur verður boðið upp á stútfulla dagskrá af spennandi viðburðum.  

Söfn og menningarstofnanir opna dyr sínar með fjölbreyttum viðburðum, sýningum og lifandi upplifun fyrir alla aldurshópa. 
Komdu, uppgötvaðu nýjar sýningar og viðburði – og láttu koma þér skemmtilega á óvart!  

Dagskrá Safnanætur 2026  

HAFNARHÚS | 18:00–23:00  

18:00–23:00   
H-bar og tónlist.  

18:00–18:45  
Hraunmyndanir – Arnhildur Pálmadóttir og Andri Snær segja frá framlagi íslands á Feneyjartvíæringnum í arkitektúr.  

19:00–19:45  
Blómstrandi framtíð – Katrín Elvarsdóttir og Bryndís Erla Hjálmarsdóttir veita leiðsögn um sýninguna.  

20:00-20:45  
Erró Remix – Leiðsögn um sýninguna.  

21:00–23:00   
Sjónleikar – Unfiled og MOTET
Tvær sjónsveitir - hljómsveitir sem leggja jafn mikið upp úr örvun augna og eyrna og starfa á mörkum tónlistar og myndlistar - leiða saman hesta sína í Hafnarhúsi á Safnanótt.  
21:00 MOTET  
22:00 Unfiled  

KJARVALSSTAÐIR | 18:00–22:00  

18:00  
Leiðsögn sýningastjóra um Kjarval og 20. öldin: Þegar nútíminn lagði að.  

18:00–22:00  
Útsaumsveisla – Saumum saman í risastórt listaverk innblásið af sýningu Kristínar Gunnlaugsdóttur: Ósagt.  

18:30/19:00/19:30  
Heimsókn í listaverkageymslur Kjarvalsstaða. Takmarkaður fjöldi, skráning nauðsynleg.  

20:00   
Ósagt – Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir veitir leiðsögn um sýninguna.  

ÁSMUNDARSAFN | 18:00–22:00  

19:00  
Vasaljósaleiðsögn um höggmyndagarð Ásmundar. Tilvalið fyrir fjölskyldur með börn jafnt og fullorðna.   

20:00–21:00  
Listamannaspjall - Listamaðurinn Finnur Arnar hefur sett niður tjaldbúðir í Ásmundarsafni og segir gestum frá verki í vinnslu.

The Reykjavík Art Museum will offer a packed program of exciting events.  

Museums and cultural institutions open their doors with a variety of events, exhibitions and live experiences for all ages. 
Come, discover new exhibitions and events – and let the magic of Museum Nights captivate you!

Museum Night Program 2026  

HAFNARHÚS | 18:00–23:00  

18:00–23:00  
H-bar and music.  

18:00–18:45  
Lavaformation – Arnhildur Pálmadóttir and Andri Snær discuss Iceland’s contribution to the Architecture Biennale in Venice.  

19:00–19:45  
A Botanical Future – Katrín Elvarsdóttir and Bryndís Erla Hjálmarsdóttir give a guided tour of the exhibition.  

20:00–20:45  
Erró Remix – Guided tour of the exhibition.  

21:00–23:00  
Sjónleikar – Unfiled and MOTET
Two audiovisual bands—placing equal emphasis on stimulating the eyes and ears and working at the intersection of music and visual art—join forces at Hafnarhús for Museum Night.  
21:00 MOTET  
22:00 Unfiled  

KJARVALSSTAÐIR | 18:00–22:00  

18:00  
Curator’s Tour of Kjarval and the 20th Century: When Modernity Anchored.  

18:00–22:00  
Embroidery bliss – Let’s stitch together a large-scale artwork inspired by Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir’s exhibition Unspoken.  

18:30 / 19:00 / 19:30  
Visit to the Art Storage Facilities at Kjarvalsstaðir
Limited capacity. Registration required.  

20:00  
Unspoken – Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir gives a guided tour of the exhibition.  

ÁSMUNDARSAFN | 18:00–22:00  

19:00  
Flashlight Tour of Ásmundur’s Sculpture Garden
Ideal for families with children as well as adults.  

20:00–21:00  
Artist Talk – Artist Finnur Arnar has set up camp at Ásmundarsafn and invites visitors to hear about a work currently in progress.

Museum Night will be held on Friday, February 6, 2026, where guests are invited to visit museums and exhibitions throughout the capital area that will be open until late into the evening.

MUSEUM NIGHT 2026 | Reykjavík Art Museum

Safnanótt verður haldin hátíðleg föstudag 6. febrúar 2026 þar sem gestum býðst að líta við á söfn og sýningar víðsvegar á höfuðborgarsvæðinu sem verða opin frameftir kvöldi.

SAFNANÓTT 2026 | Listasafn Reykjavíkur

Fræðsla

Smiðja

Sýning

Opin smiðja þar sem þáttakendur geta sett sitt mark á sameiginlegt listaverk.

An open workshop where participants can contribute to a shared artwork.

Let’s stitch together a giant artwork on Museum Night inspired by Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir’s exhibition: Unspoken in Kjarvalsstaðir!

MUSEUM NIGHT | Embroidery bliss

Saumum saman í risastórt listaverk á Safnanótt innblásið af sýningu Kristínar Gunnlaugsdóttur: Ósagt á Kjarvalsstöðum!

SAFNANÓTT | Útsaumsveisla

Lavaforming er framtíðarsýn í arkitektúr þar sem glóandi hraun er notað sem byggingarefni fyrir mannvirki og heilar borgir.

Sýningin var framlag Íslands til 19. alþjóðlegu arkitektasýningar Feneyjatvíæringsins árið 2025. Sýningin segir sögu framtíðarsamfélags sem hefur lært að temja hraunflæði, nýta sér það og þannig breytt staðbundinni ógn í tækifæri til sköpunar.

Lavaforming is a proposal on how the brutal force of lava can be turned into a valuable resource, capable of lowering atmospheric emissions through its future use as a sustainable building material.

The exhibition was Iceland's contribution to the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale in 2025. The exhibition tells the story of a future society that has learned to tame lava flows, utilize them, and thus turn a local threat into an opportunity for creativity.

Arnhildur Pálmadóttir and Andri Snær Magnússon give a tour on the exhibition Lavaforming at Hafnarhúsið on Museum Night Friday February 6th at 6.00 PM.

MUSEUM NIGHT | Guided tour: Lavaforming

Arnhildur Pálmadóttir og Andri Snær Magnússon segja frá sýningunni Hraunmyndanir í Hafnarhúsi á Safnanótt föstudaginn 6. febrúar kl. 18.00.

SAFNANÓTT | Sýningaleiðsögn: Hraunmyndanir

Á sýningunni getur að líta myndlistarverk íslenskra listamanna frá um sex áratuga skeiði eftir aldamótin 1900.  

Verkin spanna það tímabil sem listmálarinn Jóhannes S. Kjarval var starfandi. Þegar litið er á feril Kjarvals og hann speglaður í verkum samtíðarmanna hans sést hvernig myndlistin tekur breytingum og þróast.

In this exhibition, you can see artworks by Icelandic artists that span approximately six decades following the turn of the 20th century.  

These works extend across the period during which the painter Jóhannes S. Kjarval was active. In examining Kjarval's journey, and comparing it to the works of his contemporaries, it is possible to see the various ways art changes and evolves.

Edda Halldórsdóttir will give a guided tour on the exhibition Kjarval and the 20th Cent­ury: When Modernity Anchored on Museum Night Friday February 6th at 6.00 PM in Kjarvalsstaðir.

MUSEUM NIGHT | Curator Talk

Edda Halldórsdóttir verður með leiðsögn um sýninguna Kjarval og 20. öldin: Þegar nútíminn lagði að fyrir gesti Safnanætur föstudaginn 6. febrúar kl. 18.00 á Kjarvalsstöðum.

SAFNANÓTT | Leiðsögn sýningarstjóra

Hvað verður um listaverkin þegar ekki er verið að sýna þau? Einstakt tækifæri til að skoða listaverkageymslur með Sigurði Trausta Traustasyni deildarstjóra safneignar og rannsókna.  

Takmarkaður fjöldi og skráning nauðsynleg. Tvær tímasetningar fyrir heimsókn á íslensku:

Skráning kl. 18:30 ÍSLENSKA: https://bit.ly/3ZDyi0a

Skráning kl. 19:00 ÍSLENSKA: https://bit.ly/3Mbh7zZ

A unique opportunity to explore art archives with Sigurður Trausti Traustason, Head of the Department of Collections and Research.

Limited number and registration required. One time slot for english speaking visit:

Registration at 19:30 ENGLISH: https://bit.ly/49X0csL

What happens to the artworks when they are not being exhibited?

MUSEUM NIGHT | Visit to Art Archives

Hefur þú komið í helgustu vé Kjarvalsstaða? Einstakt tækifæri til að skoða listaverkageymslur í fylgd safnafræðings.

SAFNANÓTT | Heimsókn í listaverkageymslur Kjarvalsstaða

Tilvalið fyrir fjölskyldur með börn jafnt og fullorðna, við hvetjum gesti til að mæta með eigin vasaljós til að skoða stytturnar í garðinum gaumgæfilega.

Fun for the whole family—kids and adults alike! We encourage guests to bring their own flashlights.

Guided tour with flashlights in the scuplture garden of Ásmundur Sveinsson on Museum Night.

MUSEUM NIGHT | Guided tour with flashlight at Ásmundarsafn

Vasaljósaleiðsögn um höggmyndagarð Ásmundar Sveinssonar á Safnanótt.

SAFNANÓTT | Vasaljósaleiðsögn um höggmyndagarð Ásmundar

Á sýningunni Blómstrandi framtíð beinir Katrín sjónum sínum að plöntum sem hafa ferðast milli heimkynna.

Í verkunum mætast grípandi fegurð og hugleiðingar um uppruna. Hún veltir fyrir sér hvað það þýðir að tilheyra, að festa rætur – vera aðfluttur og samt hluti af heild.

Fjórar seríur sýningarinnar fjalla um inngrip mannsins í náttúruna: Plöntur eru fluttar á milli staða sem gjafir, sem eign, fyrir forvitnissakir eða í nafni rannsókna og framþróunar. Í forgrunni eru fjórar tegundir; kirsuberjatré, bananatré, fenjagreni og kínversk plastblóm, sem hver um sig býr yfir langri og áhugaverðri sögu sem tengir saman ólíkar heimsálfur.

In A Botanical Future, Katrín focuses on plants that have traveled between habitats.

At the forefront are three plant species, cherry blossom, banana plant, and Dawn Redwood each with a long and fascinating history connecting different continents. She follows them with her camera – not to pin them down, but to record them and transform them into another form.

Artist Katrín Elvarsdóttir and Curator Bryndís Erla Hjálmarsdóttir give a talk on the exhibtion A Botanical Future at Hafnarhús.

MUSEUM NIGHT | Artist and Curator Talk

Katrín Elvarsdóttir litstamaður og Bryndís Erla Hjálmarsdóttir sýningarstjóri veita leiðsögn um sýninguna Blómstrandi framtíð í Hafnarhúsi.

SAFNANÓTT |  Samtal listamanns og sýningarstjóra um Blómstrandi framtíð

Finnur Arnar Arnarson vinnur oftar en ekki með samband manns og umhverfis í verkum sínum.  

Hugmyndum sínum finnur hann form í margskonar miðlum, s.s. skúlptúr, innsetningum og ljósmyndum.

Finnur Arnar Arnarson often works with the relationship between man and the environment in his works.  

He finds form in his ideas in a variety of media, such as sculpture, installations, and photographs.

Artist Finnur Arnar has set up camp in Ásmundarsafn and shares insights into his work in progress with visitors.

MUSEUM NIGHT | Artist talk with Finnur Arnar

Listamaðurinn Finnur Arnar hefur sett niður tjaldbúðir í Ásmundarsafni og segir gestum frá verki í vinnslu.

SAFNANÓTT | Listamannaspjall með Finni Arnari

Sýningarspjall

Erró er á meðal þeirra íslensku listamanna sem náð hafa fótfestu í heimi alþjóðlegrar myndlistar.

Listasafn Reykjavíkur varðveitir heilstætt safn verka eftir listamanninn og er Hafnarhús vettvangur reglulegra sýninga á verkum hans. Þessi yfirlitssýning endurspeglar litríkan ferli listamannsins en á löngum ferli hefur hann fengist við ýmsa miðla myndlistarinnar.

Erró is one of the few Icelandic artists who has gained a foothold in the international art scene.

The Reykjavik Art Musem houses the most extensive collection of Erró's works and exhibitions from the Erró collection are a regular fixture at the Hafnarhús site of the Reykjavík Art Museum, with the purpose of giving as clear an image as possible of the diverse character of the artist's works.

Welcome to a guided tour of the exhibition Erró: Remix at Hafnarhús on Museum Night Friday February 6th at 8.00 PM.

MUSEUM NIGHT | Guided tour Erró: Remix

Verið velkomin á leiðsögn um sýninguna Erró: Remix í Hafnarhúsi á Safnanótt föstudaginn 6. febrúar kl. 20.00.

SAFNANÓTT | Leiðsögn um Erró: Remix

Ásmundarsafn, Hafnarhús, Kjarvalsstaðir

Erró

Hafnarhús

The Reykjavik Art Musem houses the most extensive collection of Erró's works and exhibitions from the Erró collection are a regular fixture at the Hafnarhús site of the Reykjavík Art Museum, with the purpose of giving as clear an image as possible of the diverse character of the artist's works.

Erró is one of the few Icelandic artists who has gained a foothold in the international art scene.

This exhibition is a comprehensive overview of the artist's colourful career that has made use of various media in the visual arts. Within it you will find everything from performances, video works, graphics, multiples and collages, to larger works in public spaces and paintings of all scales.

The artist Erró, born Guðmundur Guðmundsson in 1932 in Ólafsvík, West Iceland, was among the most prominent figures of the European avant-garde of the 1960s. In the history of art of that period, his name is associated not only with the renewal of pictorial figuration, due to his invention of narrative collage-paintings, but also with the Happenings movement and experimental cinema. Although his work is often, rightly, attached to artistic groups like Surrealism, Narrative Figuration or Pop art, it cannot be reduced to any one of them.

Erró: Remix

Kristín Helga Ríkharðsdóttir is the 53rd artist to exhibit in the D Gallery. Here, artists who shaped the Icelandic art scene are invited to debut their work in a solo exhibition at a public museum.

The Smooth Operator is a new video-installation where we follow a woman in pursuit of absolute smoothness of her legs. This gradually develops into an obsession and an unexplained fear of short, dark hairs. The work takes on a form that is both attractive and unsettling. Through absurd humor, hair-like textures, and obsessive attention to feet, beauty rituals acquire an almost supernatural quality, driven by a belief in transformation.

Kristín Helga Ríkharðsdóttir (b. 1993) works across multiple media, translating ideas drawn from her own experiences, stories, and everyday objects into diverse forms. Through painting, photographs, sculpture, video, and sound, she engages with the hyperreality of everyday life and examines the tension between the natural, the man-made, and the staged. Kristín seeks to reflect the world we inhabit, where distinctions between reality and fiction are increasingly blurred.

Kristín Helga Ríkharðsdóttir graduated from the Fine Arts Department of the Iceland University of the Arts in 2016 and participated in an exchange program at the Universität der Künste in Berlin, where she also completed an internship after graduation. In 2019, she moved to New York to pursue an MFA in Studio Art at New York University, completing the program in January 2022.  

Her works have been exhibited widely, both in Iceland and internationally, including at Gerðarsafn, Hafnarborg, The Living Art Museum, Þula Hafnartorg, and 80WSE in New York. In the summer of 2024, she was invited to participate in a studio residency at ISCP in New York through the Icelandic Art Center. Her films have received awards at film festivals, and a music video by her was nominated for the Icelandic Music Awards in 2019.  

She has received numerous grants and recognitions, including a grant and fellowship from the Leifur Eiríksson Foundation (2020–2021), a grant from the Guðmunda Andrésdóttir Fund in 2020, a grant from the Scandinavian Foundation in 2019, and a scholarship for promising students from Landsbankinn in 2021.


D53 Kristín Helga Ríkharðsdóttir: The Smooth Operator

Jóhannes S. Kjarval

Kjarvalsstaðir

These works extend across the period during which the painter Jóhannes S. Kjarval was active. In examining Kjarval's journey, and comparing it to the works of his contemporaries, it is possible to see the various ways art changes and evolves. The prevailing spirit of each era is reflected in differing shifts in style, and the artworks provide insight into the artists' inspirations, their surroundings and circumstances. Initially, a romantic view of nature predominated, but symbolism soon after made its way into the narrative, and the first steps were taken towards breaking away from naturalistic imagery.

In this exhibition, you can see artworks by Icelandic artists that span approximately six decades following the turn of the 20th century. 

Kjarval was born in 1885 and died in 1972. Between these points in time lies a significant period in cultural history and global society. This was a period of profound social transformation, industrialisation, urban development and technological advancement. Icelandic artists traveled abroad for education, returned home with fresh ideas, and were inspired by the currents and movements they encountered in Europe. In this sense, artists truly are not isolated islands in world history, but rather engage with various circumstances, innovations, revolutions and conflicts through their works.

As contemporary values embedded themselves in Icelandic society, the subjects and methods of artists evolved. Traditional artistic boundaries were shattered, and abstraction found its place. The then present era left its mark on Icelandic society, as is evident in the progress and diversity of artists' creative endeavors, and in the lifelong work of Kjarval.

In 1973, a year following Kjarval's death, Kjarvalsstaðir was inaugurated and named in his honor. Kjarval is one of the most beloved artists of the nation and his works have been exhibited here for half a century. Kjarval‘s works and those of other artists in this exhibition come from the collection of Reykjavik Art Museum, with the exception of Kjarval's famous _Mountain Milk_ (_Fjallamjólk_), one of the artist's most renowned pieces, which is currently on loan from ASÍ Art Museum.

Kjarval and the 20th Century: When Modernity Anchored

Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir

Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir, Unspoken V, 2025

Kristín is one of the most prolific and beloved artists of contemporary Icelandic art, with numerous major exhibitions and works held in public collections.

Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir’s mid-career retrospective in the West Gallery of Kjarvalsstaðir, offers a unique insight into human existence and emotional life.

Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir has gained recognition for her fearless approach to breaking apart and reassembling her visual language and methods. Drawing on centuries-old traditions of icon painting, she creates figurative works based on complex symbolic systems. She also produces abstract works that resonate with the expressive modes of modernism, as well as meticulously crafted embroidery pieces based on swift sketches – to name just a few examples. The exhibition offers a broad overview of her career, while also presenting new and unexpected works created specifically for this occasion.

Kristín’s art conveys emotion, both universal and personal. At the heart of her practice lies an inexhaustible interest in the human body. The body is not presented as a neutral form, but as a living vessel of emotion, identity, and spiritual inquiry. She is a master of capturing moments of stillness and vulnerability, where bodies – especially female bodies – appear in subjective spaces: elevated, dreamlike, humorous, or everyday. Through her images, we sense how she approaches the subject with respect, curiosity, and sensitivity to how the body and visual language can express what cannot be said in words. Carefully chosen clues – a pose, an object, a color, or a texture – guide the viewer in perceiving the unspoken.

Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir was born in 1963 and studied art at the Akureyri School of Visual Arts and the Icelandic College of Art and Crafts from 1983 to 1988. She then continued her studies abroad, focusing on icon painting at the convent of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in Rome, followed by studies at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence from 1987 to 1993. Kristín is the ninth artist selected for the Reykjavík Art Museum’s exhibition series at Kjarvalsstaðir, which highlights the careers of key figures in Icelandic art. Each artist is chosen for their unique contribution and specialization in terms of media, methods, and subject matter. This positioning is reflected in the presentation of key works from different periods in the West Gallery, accompanied by a catalogue that places the artist’s career in the context of art history and the present day.

Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir: Unspoken

Ásmundur Sveinsson

Myndhöggvarinn að störfum á vinnustofu sinni.

Ásmundarsafn

Sculptor Ásmundur Sveinsson worked in different materials. He carved wood, cut stone, shaped clay, transferred forms to concrete, in addition to working with iron and found materials. Many of his best-known works are enlarged and placed in public space around the city. His works were created in relentless experimentation in the studio where he allowed material, content and space work hand in hand. The sculptures are either figurative or abstract, as Ásmundur went through various periods in his artistic creation. In the exhibition, we go back in time and into Ásmundur's studio. We get a sense of what happened behind the scenes in the artist's search for the appropriate completion for the ideas that emerged.

 In the exhibition, we go back in time and into Ásmundur's studio.

Wonderland was the name of the next farm to the place in Laugardalur where Ásmundur built his studio, the "dome" in Sigtún. He lived here with his family, built and developed unique facilities for artistic creation. The house was partially rebuilt and opened as an art museum and sculpture garden after Ásmundur's death over 40 years ago. Reykjavík Art Museum's aim ever since has been to show his work in all its variety and to provide a platform for a younger generation of artists to show their own work in the context of his heritage.

Ásmundur Sveinsson (1893–1982) was one of the pioneers of Icelandic sculpture. He studied at the Swedish Academy of Arts in Stockholm, spent several years in Paris and travelled through Greece and Italy. Ásmundur always remained loyal to the position that art had a mission for the people and belonged among them. He was called the folk poet in art, and without a doubt, that ideal is rooted in his attitude to life as much as in the sculptural tradition.

Ásmundur Sveinsson: Wonderland

Katrín Elvarsdóttir

Black and White close up photo of  Fenjagreni by artist Katrínu Elvarsdóttur

At the forefront are three plant species, cherry blossom, banana plant, and Dawn Redwood each with a long and fascinating history connecting different continents. She follows them with her camera – not to pin them down, but to record them and transform them into another form. In the photograph they belong to another world, created by the artist. They bear witness to something movable, but not forgotten, of what can flourish — even far away from its origins.

In A Botanical Future, Katrín focuses on plants that have traveled between habitats. 

Katrín Elvarsdóttir:  A Botanical Future

This project was Iceland's contribution to the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale in 2025. The exhibition tells the story of a future society that has learned to tame lava flows, utilize them, and thus turn a local threat into an opportunity for creativity.

Lavaforming is a proposal on how the brutal force of lava can be turned into a valuable resource, capable of lowering atmospheric emissions through its future use as a sustainable building material.

In our story, placed in 2150, we have harnessed the lava flow, just as we did with geothermal energy 200 years earlier in Iceland. The main goal of Lavaforming is to show that architecture can be the force that rethinks and shapes a new future with sustainability, innovation, and creative thinking. A lava flow can contain enough building material for the foundations of an entire city to rise in a matter of weeks without harmful mining and non-renewable energy generation. Lavaforming is exploring a building material that has never been used before. The theme is both a proposal and a metaphor - architecture is in a paradigm shift, many of our current methods have been deemed obsolete or harmful in the long term. In our current predicament - we need to be bold, think in new ways, look at challenges and find the right resources - Arnhildur Pálmadóttir, curator, architect, founder and creative director of Lavaforming. 

Architect Arnhildur Pálmadóttir is the founder and owner of s.ap architects, which specializes in sustainability and circularity in construction, and the curator and the creative director of Lavaforming. She is renowned for her entrepreneurial attitude and interdisciplinary interest that she uses to tackle projects from various perspectives. 

The exhibition team of the Venice Biennale comes from s. ap architects, an interdisciplinary research studio focusing on speculative projects of the future, along with interdisciplinary collaborators. The exhibition team consists of Arnhildur Pálmadóttir, Arnar Skarphéðinsson, Björg Skarphéðinsdóttir, Sukanya Mukherjee, Jack Armitage, and Andri Snær Magnason. The graphic design is handled by the design studio Studio Studio, and Markús Þór Andrésson, Head of Exhibitions and Mediation at the Reykjavík Art Museum, serves as the exhibition's consultant. 


s. ap architects: Lavaforming

Finnur Arnar Arnarson

Black and white photo of artist Finnur Arnar Arnarsson

Svarthvít mynd af Finni Arnari Arnarssyni

He finds form in his ideas in a variety of media, such as sculpture, installations, and photographs.

Finnur Arnar Arnarson often works with the relationship between man and the environment in his works.

Finnur Arnar studied, first in the sculpture department and then in the polytechnic department of the Icelandic School of Art and Crafts, graduating in 1991. In parallel with his art, he has designed sets for theaters, exhibitions for museums and institutions, as well as teaching art. He was the artistic director and ran the Skúrinn Cultural Center from 2012 to 2014. Finnur Arnar's works are always on the border of nature, humanity and culture - they are reflections on the smallness of man in relation to larger and stronger forces and how that fact changes our perception of our own existence.

Undraland is a project dedicated to the history of Ásmundarsafn. It was the home and studio of sculptor Ásmundur Sveinsson (1893-1982), which he designed himself and built between 1942-1950. The house was next to a farmhouse called Undraland (Wonderland). Ásmundur named the house and his works after him to the city of Reykjavík, and a museum dedicated to his memory was established there in 1983. During the four decades that the artist worked in the house, it was a venue for fertile artistic creation. Throughout 2025, artists have been offered facilities in the house to work on their own works in progress or any kind of process, and in 2026, Finnur Arnar will step on the platform as the sixth artist with a work in progress in Ásmundarsafn.

The work is called Judgment and is about being this male animal but also about being condemned to be an artist.

"I live in a tent inside the museum, day and night, a bit like an animal. Up in the dome, I'm painting a "dome," a kind of church ceiling like in old cathedrals."

"I am no Michelangelo and not a painter, but he was not one either, so my judgment will not be a fresco but more of a mixed media. The church had church ceilings painted to tell people how they should behave and how they would be punished if they did not obey. Few people could read at that time, which is why they resorted to imagery."

Finnur Arnar Arnarsson, artist.

Eight exhibitions - one museum ticket
Ásmundarsafn, Hafnarhús, Kjarvalsstaðir

Exhibitions

Erró: Remix

Erró: Remix

D53 Kristín Helga Ríkharðsdóttir: The Smooth Operator

D53 Kristín Helga Ríkharðsdóttir: The Smooth Operator

Kjarval and the 20th Century: When Modernity Anchored

Kjarval and the 20th Century: When Modernity Anchored

Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir: Unspoken

Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir: Unspoken

Ásmundur Sveinsson: Wonderland

Ásmundur Sveinsson: Wonderland

Katrín Elvarsdóttir: A Botanical Future

Katrín Elvarsdóttir: A Botanical Future

s. ap architects: Lavaforming

s. ap architects: Lavaforming

Wonderland: Work in progress with Finnur Arnar

Wonderland: Work in progress with Finnur Arnar

Events

Locations

Ásmundarsafn

Hafnarhús

Kjarvalsstaðir

Eight exhibitions - one museum ticketÁsmundarsafn, Hafnarhús, Kjarvalsstaðir

Exhibitions

Erró: Remix

Erró: Remix

D53 Kristín Helga Ríkharðsdóttir: The Smooth Operator

D53 Kristín Helga Ríkharðsdóttir: The Smooth Operator

Kjarval and the 20th Century: When Modernity Anchored

Kjarval and the 20th Century: When Modernity Anchored

Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir: Unspoken

Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir: Unspoken

Ásmundur Sveinsson: Wonderland

Ásmundur Sveinsson: Wonderland

Katrín Elvarsdóttir: A Botanical Future

Katrín Elvarsdóttir: A Botanical Future

s. ap architects: Lavaforming

s. ap architects: Lavaforming

Wonderland: Work in progress with Finnur Arnar

Wonderland: Work in progress with Finnur Arnar

Events

Locations

Ásmundarsafn

Hafnarhús

Kjarvalsstaðir

Eight exhibitions - one museum ticket
Ásmundarsafn, Hafnarhús, Kjarvalsstaðir