unknown_benevolence

August 29th - October 27th 2024
Unknown Benevolence
Autumn Exhibition 2024

The exhibition 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. By a desire for something supernatural, in an age that calls for defining all things. The title of the exhibition itself is born from a similar thought of magic, granting collective healing and hope of a better world – an idea that some might describe as idealistic or unrealistic. However, nothing is so absurd that it is beyond the scope of dreams. A benevolent kind of magic – that most people look past during the course of the day – but, still, this benevolence may shape our reality in a way that escapes words. A feeling of unbridled tenderness and infinite possibilities.

Yet, this unknown benevolence is all-encompassing, even if it may not be felt strongly during times of hardship, and so the artists confront this idea in their own unique way. The magic may then be found in allowing space for things to be what they are, without an obsessive need to define or label everything. In this way, 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.

But what happens when we consider these ideas as variations of multiples rather than as opposites in a binary system? In the exhibition, we may discover something new about ourselves, about each other and our planet – as the curator and the artists have found through their collaboration – through ongoing dialogue and collective processing, where healing, inner-world alchemy, mothering and coven-building guide us on our way towards reaching a deeper understanding.

The participating artists are:

Björg Þorsteinsdóttir (IS, 1940-2019)
Sigríður Björnsdóttir (IS, 1929)
Suzanne Treister (UK, 1958)
Tabita Rezaire (FR, 1989)
Kate McMillan (UK, 1974)
Hildur Hákonardóttir (IS, 1938)
Ra Tack (BE, 1988)
Kristín Morthens (IS, 1992)
Tinna Guðmundsdóttir (IS, 1979)
Elsa Jónsdóttir (IS, 1990)
Juliana Irene Smith (US/FI, 1977)
Kata Jóhanness (IS, 1994)
Patty Spyrakos (US, 1974)
Edda Karólína (IS, 1991)

Curated by Þórhildur Tinna Sigurðardóttir.