Ragnar Kjartansson

In the works of the Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson (*1976 in Reykjavik) the borders between visual art, literature, music and performing art are deliberately blurred. Playfully, he combines the various genres in his performances which are developed on the basis of drawings that he has created for this purpose and which are also used for his video installations and paintings. Contentually, Kjartansson refers to artist stereotypes and motifs of western remembrance and knowledge culture. Many of his works are based on historical and political events. Here the seriousness is relieved by the artist's use of humour and trenchant intensification. As artistic strategies he deploys variation, repetition and loop, extended performance duration, persiflage and alienation.