Overview

Ragna Róbertsdóttir’s (b. 1945, Iceland) practice explores identity, materiality, time, as well as natural and architectural histories. Róbertsdóttir is best known for her minimal sculptures and installations, which often comprise elements inherent to the Icelandic environment, such as lava rock, salt, turf, and clay. Róbertsdóttir lives and works between Reykjavík and Berlin. She has had major solo shows at venues including The Living Art Museum, Reykjavík, and the Reykjavik Art Museum. In 2018, a monograph spanning 33 years of her work was published by DISTANZ.

Works
Exhibitions
Events
Biography

b. 1945 in Reykjavik

Lives and works in Reykjavik 

 

EDUCATION

 

1970 - 1971            

Konstfack, Stockholm, Sweden

 

1963 - 1970            

The Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts, Iceland

 

 

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

 

2021

Ragna Róbertsdóttir, i8 Gallery, Reykjavik, Iceland

 

2019

Ferocious Glitter, Gallerí Úthverfa / Outvert Art Space, Ísafjarðarbær, Iceland

Configured Landscapes, Persons Projects, Berlin, Germany

 

2018

Between Mountain and Tide, The Living Art Museum, Reykjavík, Iceland

 

2016

Four Parts Divided, i8 Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland

Bakkabíó, Places, curated by Þorgerður Ólafsdóttir and Eva Ísleifsdóttir, Arnarfjörður, Iceland

 

 

2015

Sensible Nature - CULTURESCAPES Iceland, Natural Science Museum, Basel, Switzerland

 

2014

THE LIGHT OF DAY - MAGMA WORKS, Lawrence Weiner & Ragna Róbertsdóttir, Safn Berlin, Berlin, Germany. Curator: Katharina Wendler

 

2013       

Seascape, i8 Gallery, Reykjavik, Iceland

Seascape, Akureyri Art Museum, Akureyri, Iceland

 

2012       

Fjords, with Harpa Árnadóttir, Bíldudalur, Iceland. Curator: Markús Thor Andrésson

 

2010       

Mindscape, Hamish Morrison Galerie, Berlin, Germany

 

2008       

Recursive Shadows, Ragna Róbertsdóttir, Ulrich Ruckriem, Alan Charlton, Bury Art Gallery Museum + Archives, Bury, UK

 

2007       

Landscape for all, i8 Gallery, Reykjavik, Iceland     

Eternal Eruption, with Birgir Andrésson, Safn, Reykjavík, Iceland

Cairn Gallery, Fife, Scotland

 

2005       

Vault Series Focus: Ragna Róbertsdóttir, New Bedford Art Museum, Massachusetts, USA

 

2004       

Patterns of Energy, Reykjavik Art Museum - Kjarvalsstadir, Reykjavik, Iceland           

Patterns of Energy, Chinese Europian Art Center, Xiamen, China

 

2003       

At the Threshold of Visibility, The National Gallery of Iceland , Reykjavík, Iceland

 

2002       

Ragna Róbertsdóttir, Studio A, Ottendorf. Museum Gegenstandsfreier Kunst Landkreis Cuxhaven, Germany

 

2001       

A Longing for Landscape, Horsens Kunstmuseum, Horsens, Denmark     

Cairn Gallery, with Sólveig Adalsteinsdóttir, Nailsworth, UK

 

2000       

Sleeper, Edinburgh, UK

 

1999       

Katla, The Reykjavík Art Museum - Kjarvalsstadir, Reykjavík, Iceland

Two Landscapes, Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany

 

1998       

Quintate/Fimmt, Gerðarsafn - Kopavogur Art Museum, Kópavogur, Iceland

 

1997       

Islandische Positionen der Gegenwart, Galerie Dorothea van der Koelen, Mainz, Germany

 

1996       

Tehús, Vesturgata 3, Reykjavik, Iceland

i8 Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland 

Byinstallationar, Hordaland Prosject Galleri, Bergen, Norway

 

1994       

Hekla, La Base, Levallois, France

 

1993       

Slunkaríki, Ísafjörður, Iceland

Portid, Intenational Art Festival, Hafnarfjörður, Iceland

 

1992       

The Living Art Museum, Reykjavík, Iceland

 

1991       

We Won´t Party Alone, Ragna Róbertsdóttir, Kunstmuseum Bern, Bern, Switzerland

 

1990       

Guachen, Nordic Council of Ministers, Copenhagen, Denmark

 

1989       

Krókur, Reykjavík, Iceland

 

1988       

Birgir Andrésson´s gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland

The Window Gallery, Akureyri, Iceland

The Reykjavík Art Museum, Kjarvalstadir, Reykjavik, Iceland

 

1987       

Four Installations, Overgaden, Copenhagen, Denmark

The Corridor, Reykjavík, Iceland

 

1986       

The Living Art Museum, Reykjavík, Iceland

 

 

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

 

2021

Frédéric de Goldschmidt Collection, Cloud Seven, Brussels

Contact, What's Normal 2021, online

Birgir Andrésson, B. Ingrid Olson, Ragna Róbertsdóttir, i8 Gallery at No.9 Cork Street, London

Eternal Recurrence, Kjarvalsstaðir, Reykjavik Art Museum, Iceland

 

2020

Sjóndeildarhringur, i8 Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland

Searching for the Shapes Within, Persons Project, Berlin, Germany

Greetings Across The Ocean, Nordatlantens Brygge, Copenhagen, Denmark

Listþræðir, National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland

Hafið - Reflections of the Sea, Felleshus, Berlin, Germany

Structure and Order : Draft of Contemporary Art History in Iceland, Reykjavik Art Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland

 

 

2019

Late Summer Show, i8 Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland

 

2018

Cyclic Repetitions, Gallery Taik Persons, Berlin, Germany

No man's land - where beauty alone reigns, Reykjavik Art Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland. Curator: Markús Thór Andrésson.

Earth homing : reinverting turf houses, Grótta, Iceland. Curator: Annabelle von Girsewald  

 

2017

KUNSTRAUM. WASSERWERK, Siegburg, Germany

 

2016

KINGDOM - Flora, Fauna, Fable, Reykjavík Art Museum, Reykjavík, Iceland. Curator: Markús Thór Andrésson

How Space Turns, Western Gallery - Washington University, Bellingham (WA), USA. Curator: Ingibjörg Jónsdóttir

 

 

2015

The Transportation Business, Jane Lombard Gallery, New York, USA. Curator: Gregory Volk

Cubit 1, Safn, Reykjavik, Iceland. Curator: Birta Gudjónsdóttir

Points of View, The Culture House, Reykjavik, Iceland. Curator: Markús Thór Andrésson

Wie Raum Wird / Synthesis, Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Siegen, Germany. Curator: Ingibjörg Jónsdóttir

Ich kann auch anders, Museum Gegenstandsfreier Kunst, Ottendorf, Germany

Natural Affairs, QuadrArt Dornbirn, Dornbirn, Austria. Curator: Christel Schuppenhauer

 

2014

Your Compound View, Reykjavik Art Museum, Reykjavík, Iceland

Synthesis, Reykjavík Art Museum, Reykjavík, Iceland. Curator: Ingibjörg Jónsdóttir

Rolling Snowball 5, Chinese European Art Center, Djúpivogur, Iceland

Iceland: Artists Respond to Place, The Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, NY, USA

Iceland: Artists Respond to Place, Scandinavia House, New York, NY, USA

 

2013

Elemental, Havremagasinet / Boden Art Center, Boden Sweden. Curator: Gregory Volk

Chance Encounters, Museum of Design and Applied Art, Reykjavík, Iceland

Black / White, Galerie Hamish Morrison, Berlin, Germany

Wieder Sehen, Museum Gegenstandsfreier Kunst, Ottendorf, Germany

Works on paper, i8 Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland

 

2012       

The Power of Passage, Reykjavik Art Museum - Hafnarhús, Iceland. Curator: Hafthor Yngvason

Seeing Red, Hamish Morrison Galerie, Berlin, Germany

Exhibition of Monochromes, Artíma Gallerí, Reykjavík, Iceland. Curator: Marteinn T.

Tausen

Nautn og Notagildi, Listasafn Árnesinga, Hveragerdi, Iceland

Carnegie Art Award 2012, Royal Academy of Fine Art, Stockholm, Amos Anderson Museum, Helsinki, Finland;

Sophienholm Lyngby, Copenhagen, Denmark

 

2011       

Outdoor Excursions, Burlington City Arts, Vermont, USA. Curator: Gregory Volk

Birgir Andrésson and Friends, Hafnarborg, Hafnarfjördur, Iceland

Rolling Snoball 2 Quan Zhou, Quan Zhou, China  

 

2010       

Fokus Lódz Biennale 2010, Lódz, Poland  

Freies Museum Berlin, Berlin, Germany

 

2009       

The Dialogue, CEAC 10 years anniversary exhibition, Xiamen, China

Central Periphery, RMIT Gallery, Melbourne, Australia. Curator: Alan Johnston

SNO 48, SNO, Contemporary Art Project, Sydney, Australia

Japan, Slewe, Amsterdam, Holland

Lífróður, Hafnarborg, Hafnarfjörður, Iceland. Curators: Dorothée Kirch and Markús Thór Andrésson

 

2008       

Big, Big Bangs/Small, Small Bucks, Dean Jensen Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Confronting the Image, Elements of MOCA, Bejing, China

Gesten War Heute Ist, Museum Gegenstandsfreier Kunst, Ottendorf, Germany

Edges of Darkness, Hamish Morrison Galerie, Berlin, Germany

 

2007        

Just Print, Peacock Visual Arts, Aberdeen, Scotland 

A North Light-Cynosure the Pier Arts Centre, Stromness, Orkney, Scotland

Agitation and Repose, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York, USA. Curators: Sabine Russ and Gregory Volk

Contemporary Scandinavian Art, SMoCA, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA

 

2006       

13 women, i8 Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland (part of Reykjavik Art Festival)

Hin blíðu Hraun, Hafnarborg, Hafnarfjördur, Iceland

Crystal Grey, Safn, Reykjavík Iceland; Peacock visual arts, Aberdeen, Scotland  

 

2005       

Surface Charge, VCUarts Anderson Gallery, Richmond, Virginia, USA. Curators: Sabine Russ and Gregory Volk

Jylland, Arhus Kunstbygning, Arhus, Denmark

Kaleidoscope, Osaka Contempoary Art Center, Osaka, Japan. Curator: Alan Johnston

 

2004       

Home Extension, University Art  Museum, Albany, USA Curators: Sabine Russ and Gregory Volk

Enviroment and Nature, National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland

 

2003       

Safn, Opening Exhibition, Reykjavik, Iceland

This I Want to See, with Ingibjörg Sólrún, Gerðuberg Cultural Centre, Reykjavik, Iceland

 

2002       

Three Walls, i8 Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland

Three Walls, Galerie Michael Zink, Munchen, Germany

 

2001       

Minimalism, The National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland

Painting and Painting, Kristinehamns Konstmuseum, Sweden

Confronting Nature, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., USA

Camp Lejre, Lejre, Denmark

National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

Drawing Iceland, Gallerie 54, Gothenburg, Sweden. Curator: Harpa Árnadóttir

Göteborgs internationella konstbiennal, Gothenburg, Sweden

 

2000       

Solitude au musée, Musée d'art moderne de St.- Etienne, France  

Galerie Anhava, Helsinki, Finland

Solitude im Museum, Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, Germany  

White Axis, Bergens Kunstforening, Bergen, Norway 

Árátta, Kópavogur Art Museum, Kópavogur, Iceland  

Bedrock, Dalhousie Art Gallery, Halifax, Canada

White Axis, Bomuldsfabriken, Arendal, Norway 

 

1999       

The Volcano Gate, with Finnbogi Pétursson, i8 Gallery at the Arco Art Fair, Madrid, Spain and STHLM Art Fair,

Stockholm, Sweden 

Galerie Michael Sturm, Stuttgart, Germany

Forme Claire, Galerie Artek, Helsinki, Finland

Galerie Anhava, Helsinki, Finland

Microwave, 123 Watts Gallery, New York, USA

Paintings Now II, Galerie Schuppenhauer, Köln, Germany

Umedalen skulptur 99, Galleri Stefan Andersson, Umeå, Sweden  

Galerie Artek, Helsinki, Finland

Centre Régional D'Art Contemporain, Séte, France

 

1998       

Galerie Peter Lindner, Wien, Austria

i8 Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland

A 4, Villa Minimo, Hannover, Germany

 

1997       

Á seyði, Seyðisfjörður, Iceland

A 4, Gallery Otto Plonk, Bergen, Norway

 

1996       

Snagar, Galleri Greip, Reykjavik, Iceland

Vision and Reality, Gallery Gúlp, Reykjavík, Iceland

 

1995       

Umedalen Skulptur 95, Umedalen, Sweden

Icelandic Abstract Art - Under Review, The Reykjavík Art Museum, Iceland

La Hora Del Norte, Madrid and Barcelona, Spain  

 

1994       

Drift 94, Art in Landscape, Lista Lighthouse Gallery, Norway  

New Acquisitions, The National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland

 

1992       

The Greatness of Smallness, Aarhus Artmuseum, Denmark

 

1991       

Kunst Europa, Island, Kölnischer Kunstverein, Köln, Germany  

 

1990       

The End of the Century, Museum for Decorativ and Applied Art, Moskow, Russia

 

1989       

Two Faces of Iceland, Person and Lindell Gallery, Helsinki, Finland

 

1988       

Aldarspegill, The National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland

5Dimensioner, Rohsska Museet, Gothenburg, Sweden; The Nordic House, Torshavn, Faroe Islands 

 

1987       

Scandinavia Today, Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan

 

1985

12e Biennale Internationale de la Tapisserie, Lausanne, Switzerland

 

1983       

Listmunahúsid, Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland

 

1982  

Scandinavia Today, USA and Helsinki, Finland

 

 

Art Fairs
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