La Biennale di Venezia
59th International Art Exhibition
Icelandic Pavillon 2o22
23.04–27.11.2022

SIGURÐUR GUÐJÓNSSON
PERPETUAL MOTION

Curator

Mónica Bello

Publication

An exhibition catalogue will be published in conjunction to the exhibition.

Press release

24.03.2021 Sigurður Guðjónsson to collaborate with Mónica Bello for the Pavilion of Iceland

Download Media Kit

 

For the Icelandic Pavilion’s exhibition at the 59 International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Reykjavík based contemporary artist Sigurður Guðjónsson presents multisensory sculpture Perpetual Motion. The artwork offers a poetic exploration of materiality at edge of the boundaries of perception, powerfully combining moving images and sound to activate the space and create an entrancing, meditative experience for visitors. The Icelandic Pavilion is curated by Mónica Bello and is located in the Arsenale, for the first time this year.  

Sigurður Guðjónsson is best known for his striking time-based media works that often focus on man-made machinery and technical relics, investigating their enigmatic, hidden elements just beyond our field of vision. The artist experiments with camera lenses, perspective, light, and motion, amplifying and observing these forms and the transformations that take place as they interact with their environment. Perpetual Motion is staged as a split screen installation, with a six-metre-high vertical screen connected to a large-scale floor projection, that occupies most of the exhibition space. The screens depict the constant drift of metal dust, amplified and magnified through the artist’s camera lens. Visitors can immerse themselves in the movement of the abstract material, as it warps and distorts, suggesting new shapes and imagery such as the surface of an outermost planet.

The interplay of sound and vision features throughout Guðjónsson’s oeuvre. The artist uses intricate soundscapes as the foundation of his works, drawing out the acoustic properties of his visual investigations to create a stronger link to the subject matter. Perpetual Motion includes a visceral soundtrack developed by Guðjónsson and Icelandic musician Valgeir Sigurðsson, which responds to the granulated texture of the matter in the moving images using stacked electromagnetic sounds that have been manipulated via granular synthesis. The soundscape fills the Pavilion and envelops visitors as they enter the artwork, forging a deeper connection with the frequencies of the metal dust as it moves and pulsates across the screens’ surface. 

This project has been realised in collaboration with Mónica Bello, the Curator of the Icelandic Pavilion. Bello holds the position of Curator and Head of Arts at the CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics in Geneva, fostering dialogues between artists, particle physicists and engineers at one of the world’s leading laboratories. Bello’s curatorial work focuses on the narratives in today’s techno-scientific culture and how artists instigate new enquiries around emergent phenomena.

 

 

Visit

Location

The Icelandic Pavilion is located in the Artiglierie building of the Venetian Arsenale (nearest vaporetto stop: Arsenale). For more information visit labiennale.org.

Address

Sestiere Castello, Campo della Tana 2169/F, 30122 Venice, Italy

Opening Hours

Biennale Arte 2022 will be open to the public from April 23 till November 27.

23 April to 25 September: 11 am – 7 pm. Fridays and Saturdays open until 8pm. Closed on Mondays.

27 September to 27 November: 10 am – 6 pm. Closed on Mondays

(except Monday 25 April, 30 May, 27 June, 25 July, 15 August, 5 September, 19 September, 31 October, 21 November)

Tickets

Admission tickets must be purchased to enter the Biennale sites. Information about prices and concessions available here.

News

“Conductive Path” by Sigurður Guðjónsson

Iceland’s representative at the Venice Biennale 2022, Sigurður Guðjónsson, opens a large-scale installation at the Factory in Hjalteyri. The exhibition is titled “Conductive Path” and takes over the entire 2000

Biennale End: The Icelandic Pavilion

Videostill from Sigurður Guðjónsson’s Perpetual Motion, 2022. Thanks to everyone who visited The Icelandic Pavilion over the last months. We are extremely happy with the report from La Biennale di Venezia that the

Out There / Episode 3: Sigurður Guðjónsson

The third episode of the second season of Icelandic Art Center’s podcast “Out There” is out there! The episode is devoted to speaking with Sigurður Guðjónsson who is best known for

Feature

Sigurður Guðjónsson bends time and space at Icelandic Pavilion in Venice  Wallpaper

‘My Anchor Point Is Here’: How Icelandic Artist Sigurður Guðjónsson’s Venice Pavilion Is—and Isn’t—Inspired by Homeland – Artnet

Materiality at the Edge of Perception: Sigurður Guðjónsson on Representing Iceland at the 59th Venice Biennale – ArtReview

Venice Biennale meets the moment with outstanding pavilions Financial Times  

Pavilions of Change: Venice Biennale 2022 Aesthetica 

At the Venice Biennale, Art Begins to Leave Identity Politics Behind – Bloomberg 

Venice Biennale 2022 opening week review: who, how and what on earth? Wallpaper 

On and In Perpetual Motion: The 59th Venice Biennial International Art Exhibition The Reykjavík Grapevine 

His dark materials: Iceland presents dreamscape of magnets and metals The Spaces 

VENICE BIENNALE – 2022 – THE MILK OF DREAMS Exploring the 59th International Art Exhibition through audio visual productions ASVOF 

SIGURÐUR GUÐJÓNSSON Perpetual MOTION DISTANZ 

 

 

Team

Artist

Sigurður Guðjónsson

Curator

Mónica Bello

Soundscape

Sigurður Guðjónsson & Valgeir Sigurðsson

Press and Communications

Sutton

Commissioner

Auður Jörundsdóttir, Icelandic Art Center

Pavilion Manager

Þórhildur Tinna Sigurðardóttir

Photography

Ugo Carmeni

Video

Blair Alexander

Design

Studio Studio (Arnar Freyr Guðmundsson, Birna Geirfinnsdóttir)

Technical Management

Eidotech

Architectural Supervision

M+B studio

Web Developer

Helga Björg Kjerúlf

Communications

General enquiries

info@icelandicartcenter.is

Press enquiries

Sophie Balfour-Lynn, Sutton

Sophiebl@suttoncomms.com

Helena Zedig, Sutton

Helena@suttoncomms.com

Social Media

Galadriel González

Partners