Some New Works

One of the roles of the National Gallery of Iceland is to collect art, with the objective of reflecting as well as possible trends and movements in Icelandic and international art at any time, as stated in the National Gallery of Iceland Act. The museum’s collections are extensive and diverse. The oldest works in the collection date from the 16th century, while the most recent are less than one year old; the nucleus of the collection consists of Icelandic art from around 1900 to the present day. Today the collection numbers over 15,000 works, and more are added each year; the museum is allocated funding of nearly ISK 30 million annually for acquisitions of art. The selection of acquisitions – whether purchases or works donated to the museum – is handled by a three- person Acquisitions Board which is appointed by the Minister of Education and Culture for a three-year term. The board is made up of the director of the gallery, one representative nominated by SÍM (the Association of Icelandic Visual Artists), and a third appointed without prior nomination.

The exhibition Some New Works displays a selection of works which have been purchased by the gallery’s Acquisitions Board or presented to the gallery in recent years. This is a welcome opportunity to provide insight into this major and important aspect of the gallery’s work by displaying recent additions to the collection, and to elucidate the priorities that guide acquisitions at any time. The exhibition reflects the diversity of outstanding Icelandic contemporary art.

The works displayed in Some New Works have been curated to highlight Icelandic landscape in the work of artists of different generations, which have been made in a range of different media.