Exhibition Opening − D36 Steinunn Önnudóttir: Non plus ultra

Exhibition opening at Reykjavík Art Museum – Hafnarhús, Thursday 14 March at 17h00. Önnudóttir is the 36th artist to exhibit in the D-Gallery series.

Önnudóttir‘s exhibition in the D-Gallery is a still life of sorts, simultaneously a painting and an installation. In chasing the real world, we get a glimpse of a struggle between the material and the intention. Steinunn approaches the work on the terms of the painting and stretches the concept’s form, material and texture.

Steinunn deals with painting tradition in a wide sense, exploring the characteristics of the material and its manifestation through history and into the present. She reflects on reality and mimesis, what is and what pretends to be.

The title of the exhibition is a reference to the ancient view of the Greeks and the Romans, who believed that the world’s end lay beyond the Strait of Gibraltar. “Non plus ultra” is Latin for “No more beyond”. By using this title, Steinunn refers to that which we do not see. What lies beyond the visible world?

Steinunn (b. 1984) graduated with a BA in fine arts from Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam in 2011, having already finished a BA in graphic design from the same academy in 2009. Steinunn has held solo exhibitions and participated in group exhibitions in Iceland and abroad. In 2014, she founded the exhibition space Harbinger and has run it since.

Curator is Aldís Snorradóttir, Public Engagement Project Manager at Reykjavík Art Museum.

Reykjavik Art Museum‘s D-Gallery exhibition series started in 2007. Up-and-coming artists, who are shaping the local contemporary art scene, are invited to hold their first solo show in a public museum.