New Acquisitions 2006 – 2010

In the Reykjavik City Council’s Statute for the foundation of the Reykjavik Art Museum, the following is determined about the museum’s art collections and acquisitions.

“The art collection of the Reykjavik Art Museum consists of special collections of works of art dedicated to Ásmundur Sveinsson, Erró and Jóhannes S. Kjarval, an architectural collection, the city’s general collection of art and artworks in public places.”

“The Reykjavik Art Museum shall possess as comprehensive collection of Icelandic art as possible and shall record, preserve and display this collection. The Art Museum shall endeavor to obtain works of art which reflect the trends and movements in Icelandic art at each time, as well as works connected with artistic creativity in the City of Reykjavik.”

“The Acquisition Committee purchases works of art on behalf of the museum in accordance with its allocated budget... The Acquisition Committee shall consist of three individuals who have comprehensive knowledge of the visual arts: the Museum Director and two individuals who are appointed by the Culture and Tourism Board for two-year terms based on recommendations from the Museum Director and at the counsel of the Head of the Department of Culture and Tourism.  One of the individuals shall be proposed by the Association of Icelandic Visual Artists (SIM)... The selection of artworks for the museum collection shall be based on artistic quality.”

This exhibition presents many of the 245 artworks that have been purchased by the museum’s Acquisition Committee in the past five years. In the selection of works, an attempt has been made to reflect the myriad of expressions found in modern and contemporary Icelandic art. New works have been acquired from exhibitions or directly from artists’ studios. Several installations have been commissioned from artists who work mainly in that medium. Earlier works have also been purchased to give a fuller picture of certain periods in Icelandic art or of the artistic development of individual artists. What will matter in the future can never be determined once and for all so it is important to review the collection on an ongoing basis and be ready to reconsider works that may have been overlooked in the past or have gained new value with changing times.

Since 2005, Hrafnhildur Schram, Dr. Christian Schoen, Solveig Aðalsteinsdóttir and Birta Guðjónsdóttir have served on the Acquisition Committee along with the Museum Director, Hafþór Yngvason, who was appointed in 2005.

The museum collections consist of 16,000 works of art: 5,411 works by Kjarval (of which 154 are paintings), 2,360 works by Ásmundur Sveinson (of which 405 are sculptures), 3,760 work by Erró (of which 310 are paintings), and 136 works of art in public spaces around the city. The museum also has a collection of 1,074 drawings by Alfreð Flóki. The general collection consists of 3,163 individual works of art.

North Gallery: Why collect artworks?
An educational, family-oriented open workshop in the North Gallery in conjunction with the New Acquisitions’ exhibition. Groups are welcome but need to make reservations in advance by e-mail:fraedsludeild@reykjavik.is.