Ragnar Kjartansson is an Icelandic artist celebrated for transforming emotion, music, and repetition into profoundly affecting works of art. Blurring the boundaries between performance, painting, video, and installation, his practice explores the tension between sincerity and irony, humor and heartbreak — always with a deep sense of humanity at its core.

While widely known for his groundbreaking performances that merge endurance and emotion, Kjartansson’s paintings and works on paper reveal a quieter, equally powerful side of his vision. These pieces capture fleeting moments of vulnerability and longing, rendered with the same poetic restraint and wry sense of humor that define his broader body of work.

In 2009, Kjartansson became the youngest artist to represent Iceland at the Venice Biennale, where he famously created a portrait of a friend every single day for six months — an endurance-based performance that has since become one of his most celebrated series. This obsessive act of repetition reflects his fascination with time, memory, and devotion, recurring themes that continue to shape his artistic language.

Today, Kjartansson’s work can be found in major museum collections around the world, including the Tate Modern, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and the Guggenheim. His paintings and works on paper remain deeply coveted by collectors for their rare ability to balance melancholy with humor, and irony with genuine emotional depth — offering a glimpse into the eternal contradictions of the human spirit.