Retrospective of the Year 2024
The Visual Arts Council’s Award for Retrospective of the Year goes to Hildur Hákonardóttir: Red Thread, an exhibition of works by artist Hildur Hákonardóttir, at the Reykjavík Art Museum, Kjarvalsstaðir. The exhibition is the result of extensive research on Hildur’s artistic career by curator Sigrún Inga Hrólfsdóttir. The exhibition is the first of three research projects supported by The Museum Fund’s Excellence Grant, awarded to the Reykjavík Art Museum in 2021 to examine the role and influence of women in Icelandic art.
The Visual Arts Council’s Award for Retrospective of the Year goes to Hildur Hákonardóttir: Red Thread, an exhibition of works by artist Hildur Hákonardóttir, at the Reykjavík Art Museum, Kjarvalsstaðir. The exhibition is the result of extensive research on Hildur’s artistic career by curator Sigrún Inga Hrólfsdóttir. The exhibition is the first of three research projects supported by The Museum Fund’s Excellence Grant, awarded to the Reykjavík Art Museum in 2021 to examine the role and influence of women in Icelandic art.
Hildur Hákonardóttir: Red Thread, 2023. Reykjavík Art Museum - Kjarvalsstaðir. Photo: Vigfús Birgisson
Hildur Hákonardóttir: Red Thread, 2023. Reykjavík Art Museum - Kjarvalsstaðir. Photo: Vigfús Birgisson
Hildur Hákonardóttir: Red Thread, 2023. Reykjavík Art Museum - Kjarvalsstaðir. Photo: Vigfús Birgisson
Hildur Hákonardóttir: Red Thread, 2023. Reykjavík Art Museum - Kjarvalsstaðir. Photo: Vigfús Birgisson
Red Thread is a comprehensive overview of Hildur’s career from the beginning until today that presented a cohesive portrait of a significant artist’s extensive career, spanning over 50 years. The exhibition showcased an array of key works that have made an impression on Icelandic society, having gained an important place in Icelandic cultural history. Women’s rights and environmental issues have played a large part in Hildur’s practice, as she addresses contemporary issues using textiles mixed with other mediums. However, textiles have always been Hildur’s primary medium. She strings together weaving and imagery that has become an essential documentation of the social discourse of years past. Although textiles have admittedly most often been her medium of choice, the exhibition also presented video works, installations, photography and digital drawings, giving a cohesive and complete overview of the artist’s career.
The jury finds that the exhibition provided meaningful insight into the unique worldview of a highly regarded artist and activist, one who does not shy away from the challenging issues of her time, instead tackling them with weaving, tapestry, diverse processes, systems and various other techniques. In recent decades, Hildur has built an extraordinary body of works and this exhibition provides a new perspective on her methods and career, not to mention on Icelandic art history.
