Iceland (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Fran Parnell [50]
Hafnarhúsið (Map; 590 1200; Tryggvagata 17; 10am-5pm Fri-Wed, to 10pm Thu) is a former warehouse now converted into a severe steel-and-concrete exhibition space. Pride of place is usually given to the distinctive, disturbing comic-book paintings of Erró (Guðmundur Guðmundsson; 1932–), a political artist who has donated several thousand works to the gallery. The rest of the industrial interior holds temporary modern-art installations: for example, fluorescent paintings of moss, a kaleidoscopic coffin and works by Japanese Pop artist Yoshitomo Nara have appeared over the last few years. The cafe has great harbour views.
Jóhannes Kjarval (1885–1972) was a fisherman until his crew paid for him to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. He’s one of Iceland’s most popular artists, and his unearthly landscapes can be seen inside the angular glass-and-wood Kjarvalsstaðir (Map; 517 1290; Flókagata; 10am-5pm), alongside changing installations.
Surreal mud-purple landscapes are intermingled with visions of trolls, giants and dead men walking at the National Gallery of Iceland (Listasafn Íslands; Map; 515 9600; www.listasafn.is; Fríkirkjuvegur 7; admission free; 11am-5pm Tue-Sun). Iceland’s main art gallery, overlooking Tjörnin, certainly gives an interesting glimpse into the nation’s psyche. As well as a huge collection of 19th- and 20th-century paintings by Iceland’s favourite sons and daughters (including Ásgrímur Jónsson, Jóhannes Kjarval and Nína Sæmundsson), there are works by Picasso and Munch.
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REYKJAVÍK’S ARCHITECTURE
The old town’s mid-18th-century houses demonstrate the Icelandic talent for adaptation. In a country devoid of many building materials, most are made from driftwood (which floated from Siberia and South America) and covered in sheets of corrugated tin to protect them from the elements. Even churches, such as the Fríkirkjan í Reykjavík (1899; Map), were made the same way. By happy chance, this light construction method also makes the buildings pretty earthquake-proof.
Building houses from scraps didn’t mean that artistic impulses were squashed – check out A-Hús (Map), from 1906, one of the city’s finest examples of wood-and-tin architecture. Its tall turrets are topped by swirling arabesques, and the wooden struts supporting the balconies are carved with whales.
As the country rallied from almost 700 years of deprivation, a new pride worked its way into Iceland’s public architecture. Basalt became a nationalist symbol – the country’s parliament building, the Alþingi (opposite), is built from blocks of the stuff, and Hallgrímskirkja has sweeping concrete representations of basalt columns that make it Reykjavík’s most iconic building. The recent economic crash put a halt to Reykjavík’s modern building boom, but city-dwellers still have hopes that the avant-garde harbourside concert hall will be completed by 2011. This structure is another that makes use of lava-inspired hexagonal shapes in its design.
Reykjavík Tours ( 821 9880, 862 7812; www.reykjaviktours.is; Laufásvegur 7; tour Ikr1500; 10.30am Mon, Tue, Thu & Fri, 11am Sun) runs a two-hour ‘Historic Houses’ walking tour around the centre for those interested in learning more. It departs from outside the main tourist office.
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The Sigurjón Ólafsson Museum (Map; 553 2906; www.lso.is; Laugarnestangi 70; adult/under 18yr Ikr300/free; 2-5pm Tue-Sun Jun–mid-Sep, 2-5pm Sat & Sun mid-Sep–Nov & mid-Feb–May) is a peaceful little place showcasing the varied works – portrait busts, driftwood totem poles and abstract football players – of sculptor Sigurjón Ólafsson (1908–82). A salty ocean breeze blows through the wooden rooms, which also contain Reykjavík’s only shoreside cafe. On Tuesday from early July to August there are classical concerts at 8.30pm. Buses 12 and S5 pass close by.
Close to Reykjavík University, Norræna Húsið (Nordic House; Map; 551 7030; www.nordichouse.is; Sturlugata 5; noon-5pm) is a Scandinavian cultural centre with an exhibition gallery (adult/under 15yr/concession Ikr300/free/150, free Wed; noon-5pm Tue-Sun),