Bronze Age Gold from Wales

The Sky in a Room is a site-specific performance by the artist Ragnar Kjartansson. First shown in 2018, all of the paintings, objects and decorative furniture from the Museum’s Art in Britain 1700 – 1800 gallery were removed. In the centre of the empty gallery sits a solo performer, playing a Chamber organ originally commissioned by the Welsh patron of the arts Sir Watkins William-Wynn in 1774. Throughout the day, the organist sings and plays Il Cielo In Una Stanza (The Sky in a Room) a famous Italian love song written by Gino Paoli in 1959. The lyrics of this song recall the power of love to disappear walls into forests and ceilings into sky. Kjartansson’s work similarly transforms the Museum, dissolving space and time through the hypnotic repetition of the song.

Ragnar Kjartansson was born in Iceland in 1976. Live performance and music are central to his practice which also incorporates film, installation and painting. His film installation The Visitors featured in Artes Mundi 6 and in 2015 he was awarded the Derek Williams Trust Artes Mundi Purchase Prize. The Sky in the Room is a co-commission between Artes Mundi and Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. It is the first performance work to enter the Museum’s collection and its acquisition was made possible through the generous support of the Derek Williams Trust and the Art Fund.