Sunday September 1st at 1 p.m., we invite you to a talk with Þórhildur Tinna Sigurðardóttir, curator, and artist Hildur Hákonardóttir, about Unknown Benevolence, Hafnarborg‘s Autumn Exhibition 2024. Hildur is among the artists featured in the show, but in connection with her work she has written an essay for the catalogue accompanying the exhibition. At the talk, Þórhildur Tinna and Hildur will speak about the artwork and the ideas underlying the exhibition, as well as presenting their writings in the catalogue.
The exhibition Unknown Benevolence is shaped by the need to get a sense of magic in a world that largely seems to be devoid of the magical, in somewhat hopeless times. The kind of magic that may be found in allowing space for things to be what they are, without an obsessive need to define or label everything. Similarly, artworks can be seen both as sentimental and incisive, just as they can hold apparent contradictions that perhaps ought to cancel each other out, but are, in the end, undeniably intertwined, like pain and personal growth, trauma and healing, joy and sorrow.
The title of the exhibition itself is born from a similar thought of magic, giving way to collective healing and hope of a better world – an unknown benevolence that shapes our reality in a way that escapes words. This benevolence is indeed all-encompassing, even if it may not be felt strongly during times of hardship, and the contributing artists all confront this idea in their own unique way.
The featured artists are Björg Þorsteinsdóttir, Sigríður Björnsdóttir, Suzanne Treister, Tabita Rezaire, Kate McMillan, Hildur Hákonardóttir, Ra Tack, Kristín Morthens, Tinna Guðmundsdóttir, Elsa Jónsdóttir, Juliana Irene Smith, Kata Jóhanness, Patty Spyrakos og Edda Karólína. The exhibition is curated by Þórhildur Tinna Sigurðardóttir. The exhibition is accompanied by the publication of a catalogue featuring texts by the curator and Hildur Hákonardóttir, as well as illustrations by Edda Karólína.
Free entry – everyone welcome.