Suðurgata 7

Founded in 1977 by a group of Icelandic artists, including Bjarni H. Þórarinsson and Margrét Jónsdóttir, Gallerí Suðurgata 7 was the most vital exhibition space in Reykjavík in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It promoted conceptual art, Fluxus, and painting, presenting emerging Icelandic talent alongside established international figures — among them Peter Schmidt, Dick Higgins, Gabor Attalai, and Robert Filliou. The gallery's ambition was twofold: to bring the international avant-garde to Iceland, and to connect its own members to art worlds abroad. Hreinn Friðfinnsson exhibited there in 1977, the year the gallery opened.

"The galerie has four small rooms. In each room, I installed one piece. Each piece consisted of two main elements in interplay.

Room I. The eye-form on the photograph was dug by hand in a clay-rich soil. The soil was collected, dried and used to form the “tear” on the floor.

Room II. (Title: Cross). Two rows of photographs (Lines), one horizontal (of the sea) and one vertical (of fire) were facing each other on opposite walls. The imagined crossing point of the lines is marked, on “sea-line” with fire (soot remains on glass) and on “fire-line” with seawater (salt remains on glass). These details are not visible on photos.

Room III. (Title: Composition). On the wall is a colour photo of a rainbow. From the ceiling hangs a (functional) swing. On its seat, I applied a row of colours with a brush and bicolour.

Room IV. (Title: Pattern). A heap of small stones that I had picked at random in different places and brought together on that table. In an accompanying text, I offer each visitor to take one stone away with them."

Exhibited works: Composition, 1977, colour photograph, rope, wood, overall dimensions variable; Cross, 1977, colour photographs, acrylic, overall dimensions variable; You May Take One Stone with You, 1977, table, stones, text, overall dimensions variable; Tear, 1977, colour photograph, clay-rich soil, overall dimensions variable.
Photos by Ólafur Lárusson