Invasion III: Matthías Rúnar Sigurðsson

Among other things, Matthías Rúnar Sigurðsson makes stone sculptures. His classic method resonates interestingly with the work of Ásmundur Sveinsson and it is intriguing to see a young and promising stone sculptor presenting his work in Ásmundarsafn.
 

Matthías Rúnar Sigurðsson (b. 1988) is the third of four artists participating in the exhibition series Invasion in Ásmundarsafn the project aims to juxtapose works by living artists with those of Ásmundur Sveinsson. He graduated in 2013 from the fine arts department of the Icelandic Academy of the Arts. Since then he has participated in various exhibition projects as well as being active in the local grassroots movement. His classical approach to art creation rhymes with the craftmanship of Ásmundur Sveinsson in an interesting way.

The works on display here are hewn by Matthías Rúnar into basalt, granite and Gabbro. Life springs forth from the rocks, interesting creatures of many forms, men, animals and the undefinable. His works are installed in the timeline of the exhibition Art for the People so as they stand with works that Ásmundur created when he was about the same age as Matthías is now. There it is possible to see works of two young sculptors with the future ahead of them. Matthías Rúnar has worked with drawings and prints for most part of his career. The last few years he has taken up the hammer and chisel. As with his drawings his sculptures carry a clear indication of who the artist is, where he harnesses his creative force and love of work.

In 2018, four incursions are planned into the exhibition Art for the People in Ásmundarsafn, where the sculptor´s work is examined from the viewpoint of different periods in his career. Some of his pieces will be replaced with the work of practising artists.

Four artists have been invited to exhibit their work, creating a private dialogue with Sveinsson´s work. They are Guðmundur Thoroddsen, Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir a.k.a. Shoplifter, Margrét Helga Sesseljudóttir and Matthías Rúnar Sigurðsson. They all create sculptures from diverse materials and their work gives an interesting view of the development of three-dimensional art, its materials and subjects.