Magma/Kvika

MAGMA is one of the most comprehensive exhibitions of Icelandic contemporary design mounted to date, spanning myriad dimensions of the art form, including furniture, clothing, lighting, jewelry, architecture, textile, technical innovations, and cuisine. The exhibition opens at The Reykjavik Art Museum – Kjarvalsstaðir on 19 May 2007, during the Reykjavik Arts Festival, and will remain on display through 19 August 2007.

The object of the exhibition is to illuminate the impact of design on our immediate surroundings and to bring design’s multiform expressions to our attention. Though we do not always notice design, it affects all of us in diverse ways, and often the form and structure of objects harbor a long and interesting history which can’t be discerned from appearances.  MAGMA attempts to reflect on these themes through the design preeminent in Iceland today. The title of the exhibition refers to the simmering creative energy that characterizes the moment in Icelandic design, in both its theoretical and material aspects.

About seventy of Iceland’s most prominent and progressive designers will take part in MAGMA; five designers have created innovative works especially for this exhibition. Featured designers are Ninna Þórarinsdóttir, Páll Einarsson, Sigríður Heimisdóttir, Unnur Friðriksdóttir and Þórunn Árnadóttir, whose projects range from floor heaters to a dress made out of led. The exhibition will be launched along with a finely crafted book on Icelandic contemporary design. Educational programs and lecture series will be offered in conjunction with the exhibit.

MAGMA is curated by designer Guðrún Lilja Gunnlaugsdóttir, winner of the 2006 Visual Arts Award for Design. Guðrún Lilja Gunnlaugsdóttir has exhibited her work both at home and abroad and her work has been noted in all the major international periodicals devoted to art and design and also in few books. In its 2005 year-end review, Art Review named Guðrún Lilja as one of design’s top-ten rising stars.

MAGMA is sponsored by Straumur–Burðarás Investment Bank. The exhibition is a joint project of The Reykjavik Museum, The Reykjavik Arts Festival, and the Design Area of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.