On Thursday, 20 November at 18:00, we warmly welcome you to the opening of the solo exhibitions of visual artists Una Björg Magnúsdóttir and Eggert Pétursson. Valdimar Víðisson, mayor of Hafnarfjörður, will officiate the opening of the exhibitions.

Una Björg Magnúsdóttir
Fylling

The exhibition spaces of Hafnarborg are built around an elegant building from 1921, which previously housed a residence and a pharmacy. The main hall of the museum reflects this history, with the arched facade of the older building serving as a prominent feature of the hall. One of the main works of the exhibition plays with this idea – a low partition stretches through the space, adapting to the hall while creating a new area within it – empty space, a new stage, a potential playground. Other works were created specifically for the exhibition, including sculptures, paintings, and paper works, which together form a delicate narrative that relies on the characteristics of the space, its materials, and its light, exploring possibilities and limitations. The works also weave together timelines of the building, both historical and imagined, and explore the relationships between models and copies. The exhibition curator is Þórdís Jóhannesdóttir.

Una Björg Magnúsdóttir (b. 1990) employs various methods in her work to explore questions of beauty, value, existence, and behavior. She uses texture and charged materials in a bold yet restrained way, where precise arrangements and simple objects create a certain visual surface that challenges conventional ideas of meaning and perception. Una Björg studied at the Iceland University of the Arts and ÉCAL in Switzerland, graduating in 2018. She lives and works in Reykjavík and has exhibited widely, including at the Reykjavík Art Museum, ASÍ Art Museum, Gerðarsafn, and Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin. She was nominated as Visual Artist of the Year at the Icelandic Art Awards 2025 and received the Guðmunda Award in 2024.

Eggert Pétursson
Roði

Eggert Pétursson has for years attracted attention for his unique and passionate interest in Icelandic nature, particularly the country’s flora. In Sverrissal at Hafnarborg, he presents new works, including paintings created specifically for the exhibition, continuing his exploration of Icelandic nature but now turning his gaze upwards – toward mountain vegetation and the open sky. The smallest plants become part of a grand landscape where vegetation and the surface of the earth transform into a finely tuned composition reflecting time, light, and variability. Also on display is a series of new graphic works, created in connection with an upcoming translation of Paradise from The Divine Comedy by Dante, where a spiritual and symbolic world interacts with the artist’s earthly vision. The exhibition curator is Aldís Arnardóttir.

Eggert Pétursson (b. 1956) lives and works in Reykjavík. He studied at the Icelandic School of Arts and Crafts and the Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht. His works have been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, Reykjavík Art Museum, Hafnarborg, Nordatlantens Brygge in Copenhagen, and Pori Art Museum in Finland. Eggert also received the second prize at the Carnegie Art Award 2006 (Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Reykjavík, Copenhagen, and Nice). He illustrated a popular edition of Icelandic Flora by Ágúst H. Bjarnason, first published in 1983. Eggert works with i8 Gallery in Reykjavík, where he has frequently exhibited. Several books dedicated to his works have also been published.

Admission free – see you at Hafnarborg.