"A Boy and a Girl and a Bush and a Bird" consists of works from the years 2004-2025, providing insight into the work of the internationally acclaimed artist — where pop music and art history meet ruthless self-irony and self-criticism.

"Ragnar Kjartansson is one of the most important artists in Iceland, if not the Nordics," acknowledged exhibition curator Anders Härm.

The artist's significance to the art world is best illustrated by the fact that The Guardian included Kjartansson's 2012 video "The Visitors" in its list of the best art of the 21st century, he added.

Härm described Kjartansson as a "feminist country singer," adding that he is the perfect embodiment of this contradictory combination.

In the early 2000s, Kjartansson first became known as a musician and singer, primarily as the eccentric and hyperperformative frontman of the electroclash and glam rock band Trabant.

"Nevertheless, he probably would not protest if we were to suggest that as an artist, he is, in fact, a self-ironic country singer who — to put it sneeringly and figuratively — has been making art with a glass of whiskey in his hand ever since his car broke down, while he also failed to complete any task at hand and his wife and dog left him," the curator added.

At Kumu, visitors can check out both Kjartansson's paintings and video installations.

"It's the great thing [about] being a visual artist in the 21st century — that is like total freedom," Kjartansson told ETV's "Aktuaalne kaamera" the day before the opening.

"The 20th century gave us complete freedom to do whatever we want, and mix media if we want to," he continued. "So I'm just basically enjoying [a lot of] artistic freedom. An idea comes, and, 'Oh, this makes sense as a painting,' or 'This makes sense as a music video.'"

The Icelandic artist's work can be seen in both the Great Hall on the ground floor of Kumu, as well as in project rooms on the museum's third and fourth floors.

The works in display in the Great Hall are from 2022-2025; the latest series of paintings was created especially for this exhibition. In the three project rooms located within the museum's permanent exhibition, there is one work by Kjartansson in each, engaging in dialogue with the classics.

"We've never done an exhibition like this before, where it spreads across the entire building," Härm highlighted. "I'm especially glad it was created in dialogue specifically with Kumu Art Museum."

The exhibition "A Boy and a Girl and a Bush and a Bird" will remain open at Kumu Art Museum in Tallinn through Sunday, September 21.

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