20. May - 20. June 2010  

It's hard to be an Artist in a RockStar body - Erling T.V. Klingenberg

The exhibition It's hard to be an Artist in a Rock star body - works by Erling T.V. Klingenberg is based on the artist's life performance at Hafnarborg with the participation of many musicians and artists which will take place at Hafnarborg 20th of May at 8 pm.

It’s Hard to Be an Artist in a Rockstar Body

Erling T. V. Klingenberg makes art about being an artist, bringing into focus professional and existential questions of his occupation. His work revolves around his own public persona, foreclosing any sign of a private or a personal life. For all we know, Erling T.V. Klingenberg might be a fictional character, “an artist in a rock-star body,” as he tenaciously proclaims himself. Via photography, sculpture, performance, and video,he centers his body, his face and his identity in every imaginable way. [...] The works themselves are satirical manifestations of the attempt to create art, where all that comes across is the echo of their creator.*

The exhibition It’s Hard to Be an Artist in a Rockstar Body is an event and its echo. The artist refers to the exhibition opening as its activation. The involvement and participation of various musicians at the opening created a significant part of the exhibition itself. That happening revolved around the artist, his creations and his existence turning the museum a place of worship and a site for a performance leaving an impact that evolves into the exhibition. Participants in the activation of the exhibition are The Stimulators with Helgi Svavar Helgason, Valdimar Kolbeinn Sigurjónsson, Ómar Guðjónsson, Heiða Eiríks, Bóas Hallgrímsson, Óttarr Proppé, other participants are The Öldutún Women’s Choir, Karl Jóhann Jónsson and The Klingenberg Club.

Erling T.V. Klingenberg was born in Reykjavík 1970 // Studied at: Nova Scotia College of Art & Design, Halifax, Nova Scotia / Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Frankfurt am Main / Fachhochschule Kiel / Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts, Reykjavík // Selected solo exhibitions: 2005 I Exhibit Nothing but in a New Context, Kling & Bang Gallery, Reykjavík / 2008 The Klingenberg Case, Truck Gallery, Calgary / 2008 Artists on the Verge of Something II, Kling & Bang Gallery, Reykjavík / 2010 It’s Hard to Be an Artist in a Rockstar Body, Hafnarborg, Centre of Culture and Fine Art, Hafnarfjörður // Selected group exhibitions: 2008 The Idea of North, Dalhousie Art Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia / 2008 Dom Sztuki, Jurewicz-Arnardottir Art Foundation, Nikisialka / 2008 Frieze Projects, London.

_{* Markús Þór Andrésson, Icelandic Art Today, 2009.}