The exhibition series SCULPTURE / SCULPTURE opens in Gerðarsafn for the fourth time with two solo exhibitions by artists Ólöf Helga Helgadóttir and Magnús Helgason. The aim of the series is to explore contemporary sculpture and the development within three-dimensional art, not only as an important part of art history, but also as a living visual language within contemporary art. The series is intended to honor the sculptor Gerður Helgadóttir (1928-1975), who Gerðarsafn museum is named after, and her contribution to Icelandic art history while at the same time drawing connections to movements in contemporary sculpture.
The title Sculpture/ sculpture refers to the exhibition Sculpture/sculpture/sculpture, held in 1994 at Kjarvalsstaðir (now Reykjavík Art Museum) with works by 27 Icelandic sculptors. The exhibition opened the same year as Gerðarsafn opened its doors to visitors.
Ólöf Helga Helgadóttir graduated with a BA in Fine Art from Iceland University of the Arts in 2005. She went on to further studies, and graduated with an MFA in Fine Art from The Slade School of Fine Art – UCL, London in 2010. In 2001, before her Fine Art studies, Ólöf studied at The Icelandic Film School. In her work Ólöf pushes everyday material out of its traditional role, shedding unexpected light upon a familiar point of view. The material that she uses often has historical significance that is very personal. Ólöf lives and works in Siglufjörður.
Magnús Helgason graduated with a BA in Fine Art from AKI in Enschede, Netherlands, in 2001. He has mainly been working in experimental film making, installations, paintings and sculpture. In his work, Magnús uses found material that he transforms into either two-dimensional paintings or three-dimensional installations. He takes things and materials, sometimes transformed by nature or man-made for other purposes, and reassembled into a new whole, often playing with the distinction between material and object. In search of beauty and balance, the works meet the viewer through perception.
