You are warmly welcome to a guided tour by artist Hildigunnur Birgisdóttir through the exhibition National Happiness by Jeremy Deller the 5th of August at 12:15📯🏋️♀️🎉
Hildigunnur Birgisdóttir (b. 1980, Reykjavík) lives and works in Reykjavík. In 2024, Birgisdóttir represented the Icelandic Pavilion at the 60th Venice Art Biennale in Italy. Recent exhibitions include shows at Iceland’s Reykjavik Art Museum, the GES-2 House of Culture, the V-A-C Foundation, Moscow and H2H, Athens. Her work is included in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Iceland, the Reykjavík Art Museum, and The Living Art Museum in Reykjavik, among others. Birgisdóttir graduated from the Iceland Academy of the Arts in 2003.
About the exhibition:
At the core of Jeremy Deller’s artistic practice lies a desire to create connections. To reveal our society and its complexities through the magical power of art. He brings together disparate elements, then steps back to see what happens, allowing the artwork to take shape in the moment. The exhibition takes place in both museum halls and features The Triumph of Art (2026) and Warning Graphic Content (1993–2026).
The Triumph of Art (2026) is the most recent work by Deller, premiering in Gerðarsafn. A video installation that captures a large-scale collaboration in which Deller created performances with local actors, artists, dancers, musicians, bodybuilders and synchronised swimmers across the whole UK.
Warning Graphic Content (1993-2026) is a retrospective of Deller‘s printworks. These works capture periods of upheaval, referencing historical events and well known figures. They are sharp and political, yet in Deller’s characteristic way, warmth and humour prevent them from becoming didactic or polemical. Many of the works are made in collaboration with the graphic designer Fraser Muggeridge.
Jeremy Deller (b. 1966) is one of Britain´s most renowned artists. He was awarded the Turner Prize in 2004 and represented Great Britain at the Venice Biennale in 2013.
The exhibition is curated by Studio Studio (Arnar Freyr Guðmundsson and Birna Geirfinnsdóttir).