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Ragnar Kjartansson
God, 2007

Installation view: God, The Living Art Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland, 2007
Photo: Rafael Pinho | The Living Art Museum | Courtesy the artist | Luhring Augustine, New York | Galleri I8, Reykjavik.
Photo: Maurizio Elia / T2 Turin Triennial
Photo: Rafael Pinho / The Living Art Museum, Reykjavik
Ragnar Kjartansson
Commissions & Productions
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Single-channel video installation (color, sound), pink curtains
30 min
Overall dimensions variable
Commissioned by Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary  and The Living Art Museum, Reykjavik


In the video God Ragnar Kjartansson, supported by eleven musicians, repeatedly sings the words "Sorrow Conquers Happiness". The melancholic message is delivered in true Frank Sinatra style, interfusing the 1930s with our contemporary age. The setting of the video installation is impressive: the stage (in the video) and the surrounding - real - exhibition space is covered (and connected) with elegant lavish bright pink curtains.
"The main goal with the original installation in The Living Art Museum in Reykjavik was to change people's preconception of that space. Concerning the importance of the installation with the video then, it is vital that the piece surrounds the viewer with its pink lustrous eternity. In a pink space you become a little bit emotional. I also like how the film is linked to the notion of fake reality because it was shot at an angle that creates the perspective illusion." – Excerpt from an interview with Ragnar Kjartansson, published in the TBA21 Collection Book

PAST LOANS 

Solo Exhibition: Ragnar Kjartansson: Emotional Landscapes
Venue: Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza
Curators: Soledad Gutiérrez
February 22, 2022 - June 26, 2022


*1976 in Reykjavík, Iceland | Living and working in Reykjavík, Iceland
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The Visitors, 2012
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Ragnar Kjartansson The Visitors
Ragnar Kjartansson and friends – The Palace of the Summerland April 3–June 8, 2014 | TBA21–Augarten, Vienna
Artists
Ragnar Kjartansson