second window on the right

second window on the right
Solo exhibition by Ídris Róbertsdóttir
Curated by: Ægis Zita
Artistic director: Inga Jónsdóttir
The exhibition has been extended to September 14th 2025

The artist will be present between 4AM-5AM on September 6th and 14th for questions and open conversations about the exhibit.
Deinstallation will take place on Wednesday September 16th. The church is open for those who would like to follow the process.

We warmly invite you to view the exhibition "second window on the right" at Hallgrímskirkja this summer and into the autumn.
Hallgrímskirkja is open daily from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM throughout the summer. From Monday September 1st winter opening hours apply and the church will be open from 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Please check for changes to opening hours due to services or other events at the church.

second window on the right is an art exhibition devoted to textiles. One of the world’s oldest artistic media, textiles have attained greater, and well-deserved, attention in recent years. They have also played an integral role in the history of Christianity, as witnessed in beautifully-crafted chasubles and altar frontals. In this site specific installation the artist engages with the location, the monumentality of the space and its cultural heritage. Curator Ægis Zita places the work in a new context, to that of the Textile Association’s anniversary exhibition 50/100/55 in 2024.

The installation which comprises of multicoloured threads and lines that form multifarious, evocative shapes, has been installed in a dedicated space, between four columns in the nave, in front of the second window on the right upon entering the church. Hallgrímskirkja was designed by one of Iceland’s most acclaimed architects, Guðjón Samúelsson (1887–1950), who designed many of the country’s most admired public buildings in his time. The nave is the loftiest in any Icelandic church, where line and form come together into a captivatingly sleek style, fitting for a building dedicated to the Rev. Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614–74), Iceland’s most beloved devotional poet. Not only did he write verse that established the form of Icelandic hymns for centuries; he also composed secular poems. But he is best known for his Hymns of the Passion, which have been published more often than any other Icelandic book, and translated into many other languages.

When Hallgrímur had to abandon his theological studies in Copenhagen, he settled in the Suðurnes region of Iceland with his family, and earned a meagre living as a labourer. After some years his benefactor, Bishop Brynjólfur Sveinsson of Skálholt, appointed him to the parish of Hvalsnes in Suðurnes, where his oratorical talents developed and gained the attention of his parishioners. Later, when he served the parish of Saurbær in the west, his poetic powers reached their height. From the second window on the right, extends an exact geographical line to Suðurnes, where ongoing volcanic activity has been transforming the landscape in a spectacular manner in recent years.

The installation thus contrives to lead the observer’s mind far beyond its enclosure, as well as inwards. By reformulating the work around the central axis of the space, Ídris imbues the work with a certain tension, between the down-to-earth and the sublime; and involuntarily the words of the Hymns of the Passion come to mind: Up, up my soul, and all my mind!

We hope that you will enjoy experiencing the installation, and that it will give you food for contemplation.

Inga Jónsdóttir
Artistic advisor, Hallgrímskirkja