October 4th - November 9th, 2008 Sigurjón and Þorvaldur - two Modernists The Hafnarfjörður Institute of Culture and Fine Art

Þorvaldur Skúlason (1906-1984) and Sigurjón Ólafsson (1908 - 1982) first met in the 1920s in Reykjavík and took lessons with painter Ásgrímur Jónsson. Their friendship continued in Copenhagen, where they both studied and lived and took part in exhibitions with Danish avant-gardists. In 1938 Skúlason settled in France while Ólafsson stayed in Denmark during Second World War. In the year of 1945 the two friends met again in Iceland where they became pioneers of modernistic art in their homeland. These two artists and close friends always respected each others work and exhibited frequently together. In 1933 Ólafsson made this portrait of Skúlason. A Catalogue, 48 pages, with articles by Gunnar J. Árnason and Auður Ólafsdóttir. In Icelandic. Videos to be viewed at the exhibition: Hesten på Kongens Nytorv / The Horse on the Kongens Nytorv-square in Copenhagen     Documentary on the restoration of Lamoureux's statue of the Danish King Christian V. in which Ólafsson participated. Saga af lágmynd / A Story about a Relief     Documentary on Ólafsson's largest work, the relief at Búrfell hydropower station. Þessir kollóttu steinar /Those rounded Stones     Documentary on Ólafsson's portraits. Winner of Silver Screen Award, 27th US International Film and Video Festival, Chicago, 1994. A DVD with all three documentaries with English subtitles is available in the museum shop.