TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary

Ragnar Kjartansson

Ragnar Kjartansson, born in 1976 in Reykjavík, Iceland, is a renowned contemporary artist best known for his performance-based, immersive works that intertwine music, video, and visual art. Growing up in a family steeped in the world of theater—his mother was an actress and his father a director and playwright—Kjartansson was exposed to the nuances of performance from an early age. This environment shaped his understanding of repetition, time, and emotional depth, which would later become central themes in his art.

Kjartansson’s formal education took place at the Iceland Academy of Arts, followed by studies at the Royal Academy of Arts in Stockholm. In the early stages of his career, his works blended elements of theater, music, and visual art, demonstrating an innovative approach to storytelling. His work quickly gained international recognition with The Visitors (2012), a video installation featuring nine musicians performing a song in different rooms of a house. The piece became iconic for its emotional depth, exploring themes of isolation, connection, and the passage of time.

Throughout his career, Kjartansson has created works that delve into melancholia, repetition, and the search for beauty in the mundane. His performances often blur the lines between art and life, creating spaces where the audience is invited not just to observe but to experience. His work has been exhibited at prestigious institutions such as the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Barbican Centre in London, and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark.

Kjartansson's connection to TBA21 began in 2007 with the co-commissioning of God, a work created in collaboration with The Living Art Museum in Reykjavík. This partnership blossomed in the years that followed, culminating in major exhibitions such as The Palace of the Summerland (2014), which transformed the TBA21 Augarten venue into a live studio where Kjartansson and his collaborators filmed and performed.

Ragnar Kjartansson continues to create work that challenges perceptions of art and performance. His unique approach to blending music, theater, and visual art offers profound insights into the complexity of human emotion and the ways in which time and repetition shape our lives.

Related works in the collection

Ragnar Kjartansson
15 Licks, 2005

Ragnar Kjartansson
God, 2007

Ragnar Kjartansson
The End, 2009

Ragnar Kjartansson
The Man, 2010

Ragnar Kjartansson
The Palace of the Summerland, 2014

Ragnar Kjartansson
The Visitors, 2012

Ragnar Kjartansson
World Light - The Life and Death of an Artist, 2015

ephemeropteræ 2012
June–September 2012 | TBA21–Augarten, Vienna

Figura cuncta videntis (the all-seeing eye) / Homage to Christoph Schlingensief | November 16, 2010–April 16, 2011 | TBA21, Vienna

Figura cuncta videntis: the all-seeing eye. Homage to Christoph Schlingensief
Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, 2010

Lopud Seminar – Unpredictability and Speculations
September 13–16, 2012 | Lopud Island, Croatia

Ragnar Kjartansson and friends – The Palace of the Summerland April 3–June 8, 2014 | TBA21–Augarten, Vienna

Ragnar Kjartansson The Visitors

Ragnar Kjartansson Emotional Landscapes

Ragnar Kjartansson: The Palace of the Summerland Bulletins
TBA21, 2013

Ragnar Kjartansson
Stars Exploding, 2013

Thyssen Bornemisza Art Contemporary – The Collection Book
Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, 2009

Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary: The Commissions Book
Sternberg Press, 2020