Ragnar Kjartansson

Kjartansson works with Laddi, a comedian, who has been present throughout the lives of the generation of Icelanders of which the artist is part. Guilt Trip in a way is a tribute to Laddi. It would not have been conceived with any other actor. Kjartasson highlights the paradox of the actor by choosing a person, who is only known as a multitude of identities…

The artist, Ragnar Kjartansson graduated form the Icelandic Academy of arts in 2001. Since then his career has been characterized by experiments with visual art, music and theater. He works simultaneously as an artist and a musician and considers himself mainly as a performance artist. He is a member of the electronic group Trabant which is playing on the boundaries of rock & roll and   performance art. Ragnar has also made videos, paintings and installations wich are always related to his performances. His pieces are characterized by the play between contradict ional feelings; sorrow and happiness, horror and beauty, drama and humor…

Biography and works

Ragnar Kjartansson sings a slow tune, intonation the phrase “Sorrow Conquers Happiness” over and over again until he drifts off into a trance-like condition.

Six hours a day for ten consecutive days, Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson, dressed in a retro cocktail suit and spotlighted in an mock setting sun, performed among painted cardboard trees, his only companion his curvaceous shiny red guitar on which he moaned out a verse with no lyrics but loads of emotion.