Luhring Augustine is pleased to present its first solo exhibition of work by Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson. Though he is primarily known for performance, Kjartansson also pursues more traditional media such as painting, drawing, and video. His work taps into nostalgic imagery from bygone eras of theater, television, music, and art, allowing him to blur the border between reality and fiction.

In 2009, Kjartansson became the youngest artist to represent Iceland at the Venice Biennale and it was there that he created The End (Venice). Merging his continued interest in durational performance with the classical practice of portraiture, he set out to create a painting on each day of the Biennale. The exhibition at Luhring Augustine will display all 144 paintings created during the Biennale, and the installation will follow an approximate chronological order corresponding to the six months of artistic production. Vitrines in the exhibition space will include archival notes and correspondence related to the project.

The second gallery will debut a new video work by Kjartansson that was filmed outside Austin, Texas in 2010. Titled The Man, this piece features legendary blues pianist Pinetop Perkins, the oldest living original Delta Bluesman. Kjartansson's exploration of repetition and endurance, apparent in his own performances, is here transferred to this revered musician who has been staging and performing this music for over seven decades.

www.luhringaugustine.com

The Inspired by Iceland campaign has announced a special ‘Iceland Inspires' concert on July 1 at 8pm GMT (9pm BST).  'Iceland Inspires' will be an open air concert held close to the now-quiet Eyjafjallajökull volcano at Hamragarðar, near Seljalandsfoss waterfall. It will be a free concert and will appeal to any lover of eclectic line-ups. Fortunately for those not in Iceland to witness the event, it will be streamed live around the world. The live stream will also feature specially pre-filmed songs in stunning locations around Iceland. The line up is as follows:

Spiritualized
Seabear
amiina
Lay Low
Parabólur
Dikta
Mammút
Damien Rice
Glen Hansard
Gus Gus
Hjaltalín
For a Minor Reflection
Steindór Andersen, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson and Páll á Húsafelli

For further information on the event please visit www.inspiredbyiceland.com.

North Dakota Museum of Art from June 22 - August 15, 2010

Luise Ross Gallery in NYC from June 10 - July 30, 2010

Highlights include horseback riding on a Viking horse, a lobster feast, a volcano tour and the steamy Blue Lagoon. Travel Like The Bachelorette from $799 with Icelandair.