Magnús Pálsson - Enginn Gleypir Sólina Hardcover Book + CD
45-Page Hardback Book Contains:
2023 Liner Notes by Adam Buffington (in English & Icelandic)
1993 Exhibition Notes by Magnús Pálsson (in English & Icelandic)
Exhibition and Script Photographs
In February 1993, at artist Hannes Lárusson’s Gallerí 11 in Reykjavik, Magnús Pálsson exhibited
two installations, one in each of the gallery’s two rooms. In the first was Enginn Gleypir Sólina
(No One Swallows The Sun). In the adjacent room was its companion work Herra Túrpur
Jónsson (Mister Túrpur Jónsson).
Each room featured four wall-mounted loudspeakers, one in each corner emanating vocalized
grunts, sighs, and syllables in between extensive passages of Icelandic and nonsensical language.
On the floor beneath each loudspeaker was a generous mound of snuff tobacco. Upon each pile
was a cluster of sizable, hand-painted paper-mâché noses. The snuff evoked a sense of nostalgia,
its smell permeated Gallerí 11 as the loudspeakers relayed various anecdotes, verses, and
vernacular expressions Pálsson heard throughout his life.
Enginn Gleypir Sólina and Herra Túrpur Jónsson, referred to by Pálsson as “vocal sculptures,”
exemplify Pálsson’s life-long fascination with language, and encapsulate his interdisciplinary
exploration challenging disciplinary boundaries in order to cultivate new manners of expression.
Biographical Note
With an oeuvre constituted by book art, sculpture, sound poetry, and performance, Magnús
Pálsson (b.1929) is considered one of the most influential proponents of interdisciplinary,
Fluxus-adjacent practices in Iceland during the late 20th century. With connections to non-
Icelandic artists such as Dieter Roth, Philip Corner, and Rod Summers, Pálsson promoted
transnational cross-collaboration, aiming to break Iceland's cultural isolation from the broader
world.
2023 Liner Notes by Adam Buffington (in English & Icelandic)
1993 Exhibition Notes by Magnús Pálsson (in English & Icelandic)
Exhibition and Script Photographs
In February 1993, at artist Hannes Lárusson’s Gallerí 11 in Reykjavik, Magnús Pálsson exhibited
two installations, one in each of the gallery’s two rooms. In the first was Enginn Gleypir Sólina
(No One Swallows The Sun). In the adjacent room was its companion work Herra Túrpur
Jónsson (Mister Túrpur Jónsson).
Each room featured four wall-mounted loudspeakers, one in each corner emanating vocalized
grunts, sighs, and syllables in between extensive passages of Icelandic and nonsensical language.
On the floor beneath each loudspeaker was a generous mound of snuff tobacco. Upon each pile
was a cluster of sizable, hand-painted paper-mâché noses. The snuff evoked a sense of nostalgia,
its smell permeated Gallerí 11 as the loudspeakers relayed various anecdotes, verses, and
vernacular expressions Pálsson heard throughout his life.
Enginn Gleypir Sólina and Herra Túrpur Jónsson, referred to by Pálsson as “vocal sculptures,”
exemplify Pálsson’s life-long fascination with language, and encapsulate his interdisciplinary
exploration challenging disciplinary boundaries in order to cultivate new manners of expression.
Biographical Note
With an oeuvre constituted by book art, sculpture, sound poetry, and performance, Magnús
Pálsson (b.1929) is considered one of the most influential proponents of interdisciplinary,
Fluxus-adjacent practices in Iceland during the late 20th century. With connections to non-
Icelandic artists such as Dieter Roth, Philip Corner, and Rod Summers, Pálsson promoted
transnational cross-collaboration, aiming to break Iceland's cultural isolation from the broader
world.