Ragnar Kjartansson: The Visitors July 20–September 22, 2019

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♦ Ragnar Kjartansson’s The Visitors named #1 on the Guardian list of the “Best Art of the 21st Century” 

This summer, the MFAH presents an immersive, nine-screen video installation by renowned Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson. Each frame of Ragnar Kjartansson: The Visitors features a different musician, all of whom play together, but in separate rooms.

Well known for his musical performances that experiment with time and repetition, Kjartansson (born 1976) uses durational performance to capture collective emotion.

The Visitors brings together a cellist, a pianist, a banjo player, an accordionist, a drummer, and two guitarists. They perform simultaneously, in different rooms, surrounded by the faded glamour of the Rokeby Farm House in Hudson Valley, New York. A designated historic landmark, the house was built in 1815 on the 400-acre estate owned by the descendants of the Astor family.

More than simply watching the video, viewers of Kjartansson’s work become “visitors” themselves, moving from screen to screen—or, rather, room to room. Filmed in a single take, The Visitors features the musicians singing the lyrics of artist Ásdís Sif Gunnarsdóttir’s poem “Feminine Ways,” creating harmonies that fill the gallery, fully immersing visitors in the presentation.

Ragnar Kjartansson: The Visitors | July 20–September 22, 2019