Ragnar Kjartansson | Creative Space

Ragnar Kjartansson’s woodcut Creative Space is related to his works on privileged 21st century uneasiness like Scandinavian Pain and Scenes from Western Culture.

Kjartansson’s prints demonstrate his curiosity about the technical and aesthetic possibilities of printmaking, as well as his ability to translate quintessential components of his artistic practice into the print medium. Permeated by romantic melancholy, his new woodcut conveys Kjartansson’s sense for the comedic potential in tragedy, and his openness for different interpretations of his work.

Creative Space refers to his time in advertising while besoming an artist. It is an homage to the people suffering under the tyranny of creativity. For him, the sign saying “Come in but only with fresh ideas or fresh coffee” is representative of the special, at times somewhat forced sense of humour, enthusiasm and creativity that often characterise this kind of workplace. Kjartansson himself perceived his workplace as joyous yet profoundly melancholic; and it was in this perception of this environment that he found the joy of freedom in his own art practice.