Ragnar Kjartansson: Mercy at the NGV – a world-premiere exhibition you won’t want to miss
An Icelandic artist described as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary art is coming to Melbourne for the very first time.
If your idea of a great afternoon involves art that makes you feel something — a little melancholy, a little amused, possibly both at once — Ragnar Kjartansson: Mercy at NGV International is worth clearing your diary for. This world-premiere exhibition brings eight video works by the acclaimed Icelandic artist to Australian audiences for the first time, and it runs until 4 October 2026. For those visiting with grandchildren, there’s also a free accompanying exhibition in the Children’s Gallery that runs concurrently.
Who is Ragnar Kjartansson?
Kjartansson is an Icelandic artist born in Reykjavík in 1976, and he’s had major solo exhibitions at the Barbican in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. He represented Iceland at the Venice Biennale and was named Reykjavík City Artist in 2016.
His work draws on music, theatre, cinema, and literature — and sits in that interesting territory between comedy and sadness, sincerity and irony. His parents were both theatre people (his father a director, his mother an actor), and that background infuses everything he makes.
Angie’s review
If you’ve ever thought that contemporary art wasn’t for you, Mercy by Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson might just change your mind.
Now showing at the National Gallery of Victoria, this is Kjartansson’s first major solo exhibition in Australia. Drawing on music, film and theatre, he creates works that are both entertaining and deeply thoughtful. Humour sits comfortably alongside melancholy, encouraging visitors to slow down, look carefully and reflect on the rhythms of everyday life.
The exhibition features eight large-scale video installations, each quite different from the last. Rather than telling straightforward stories, the works explore familiar moments through repetition and subtle change. At first glance they can seem deceptively simple, but the longer you watch, the more they reveal.
Many of the scenes are instantly recognisable. A couple sits in an elegant restaurant sharing dinner, a woman swims laps in a private pool. Without giving too much away, each scene gradually unfolds in unexpected ways. Part of the joy of the exhibition is discovering these surprises for yourself.
I found myself becoming completely absorbed, waiting for the smallest movement or change within each video. Several times I was convinced I was looking at a still photograph, only to realise that the image was gently moving. The quality of the cinematography is exceptional, with every frame thoughtfully composed. The accompanying music, often repetitive and hypnotic, gradually takes on new meaning as you move from one gallery to the next.
The exhibition’s centrepiece is The Visitors, is a nine-screen video installation filmed inside Rokeby mansion in upstate New York. The group of Icelandic musicians performing the same song together, each from a different room of the house. Although physically separated, they remain musically connected.
Mercy encourages you to spend as much time as you wish with each installation. I found it to be an engaging and memorable experience, thoughtful, humorous and with emotions that often catch you by surprise.
Allow plenty of time for your visit—you may find yourself staying much longer than you expected.
What’s in Ragnar’s exhibition?
The centrepiece is The Visitors (2012), a nine-screen video installation that The Guardian named the best artwork of the twenty-first century. It was filmed in real time at a crumbling mansion in upstate New York, where Kjartansson and a group of musicians from the Reykjavík music scene each occupy a different room, playing together while apart. A drummer in the kitchen, a banjo player in the library, Kjartansson himself on guitar in the bath.
Having seen it in person, I can tell you the room itself does a lot of the work — you’re surrounded by sound and screens on every side, and it takes a moment to get your bearings before it pulls you in. There’s something a bit devastating about watching eight people who are physically alone in separate rooms of the house, connected only by headphones, building the same song together. It’s melancholy and beautiful in equal measure, and harder to describe than to simply stand in.
The lyrics, repeated as the piece builds towards its swelling, almost triumphant final stretch, were drawn from the writing of Kjartansson’s former partner, artist Ásdís Sif Gunnarsdóttir, written as their relationship was ending. Knowing that backstory adds another layer once you’re standing there. The effect is genuinely moving — I’d recommend giving real time to rather than passing through.
Other standouts
Also worth seeking out is No Tomorrow, a kaleidoscopic video work featuring guitar-playing dancers from the Icelandic Dance Company, dancing as they play, surrounded by large screens on every side. It’s playful where The Visitors is contemplative — there’s still a thread of melancholy running through it, but it’s lighter on its feet, almost cheeky in places. The sound and movement wrap around you in a similar way, and it’s worth a stop if you’re moving through the exhibition in sequence.
Also on show is the world premiere of Sunday Without Love (2025), his most recent work. Inspired by a postcard on his fridge, Kjartansson and nine performers dress in European folk costumes in a bucolic setting and repeatedly sing the phrase “You must learn to live without love.” It sounds bleak on paper, but the execution is more pastoral painting than protest — the kind of thing that makes you laugh and feel oddly sad at the same time.
Then there’s Me and My Mother, an ongoing work in which, every five years, Kjartansson asks his mother — acclaimed Icelandic actor Guðrún Ásmundsdóttir — to spit on him. I must admit I couldn’t stand this exhibit. The camera captures every grimace, sideways glance, and stifled laugh. It’s a portrait of a mother-son relationship playing out its strange theatre across decades. Some may find it touching.
Why the exhibition is called Mercy
The exhibition takes its name from one of the works on show, and it’s worth pausing on why. Mercy is a word that carries real weight — it can be tender and generous, but it also implies the possibility of its absence, of what happens when there’s none to be had. Kjartansson, who grew up around the Catholic church, has spoken about being drawn to that tension. It’s a fitting title for a show that moves between sincerity and melancholy throughout, and it’s worth keeping in mind as you move through the rooms.
Practical information
Dates: 26 June – 4 October 2026
Location: NGV International, 180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne (Ground Level)
Tickets:
- Adult: $25
- Concession: $22
- Child (5–15 years): $11
- Family (2 adults + 3 children): $60
- NGV Members receive discounted entry
A $4.50 online transaction fee applies. Tickets are available at ngv.vic.gov.au.
Joint ticket offer: If you’re also planning to see the CARTIER exhibition, there’s a special joint ticket deal — you can add Mercy for just $10 when purchasing a CARTIER ticket. Worth considering if you want a full day at the NGV.
Getting there
NGV International is right on St Kilda Road, making it one of Melbourne’s most accessible major venues.
Tram: Several trams stop directly outside or nearby — tram routes 3, 5, 6, 16, 64, 67 and 72 all travel along St Kilda Road, stopping at the Arts Precinct stop (stop 18 or 19 depending on your direction). It’s a flat walk from the tram to the entrance.
Train: Flinders Street Station is about a 10-minute walk along St Kilda Road, or a very short tram ride. City Loop stations are also close by.
Parking: There’s paid parking nearby on St Kilda Road and surrounding streets, though weekend availability can be limited. The NGV doesn’t have its own car park, so public transport is genuinely the easier option.
The gallery itself is fully accessible, with lifts, ramps, and seating throughout. The video works in this exhibition involve sitting or standing to watch screens, so it’s a comfortable, low-exertion visit.
For grandparents bringing the grandchildren
Alongside the main exhibition, the NGV is also presenting Children’s Play: Ragnar Kjartansson in the Children’s Gallery on the ground level. Entry is free.
Kjartansson created this companion exhibition inspired by the theatrical tradition of a grand feast — think banquet halls and backstage theatre, reimagined for young visitors. Kids can step onto a stage and perform their own stories, draw from lavish still-life displays of food arranged like old paintings, and stack colourful upholstered cushions into wobbly cake sculptures.
Kjartansson has described it as close to his own childhood dream of a stage to perform on, which comes through in how playful and theatrical the space feels.
It’s an unusually imaginative space — not a typical children’s activity room — and ties in genuinely with the themes of the main exhibition. If you’re planning a visit with grandchildren, the combination of the ticketed show upstairs and the free children’s gallery makes for a very good day out.
A few things worth knowing
The video works are immersive and some run for quite a while — The Visitors is 64 minutes in full, for example. You don’t need to watch any piece end to end to appreciate it, and most people move through at their own pace. There are seating options within the exhibition spaces.
The NGV has dining options on site, including a café, which makes it easy to build the visit around a relaxed lunch. The gallery tends to be busiest on weekends and school holidays; weekday mornings are generally quieter.
Events accompanying the exhibition include a curator’s talk and a member preview on 25 June, and Kjartansson himself is appearing in conversation on 27 June — that event is ticketed separately.
This is genuinely one of the stronger exhibitions coming to Melbourne in 2026 — not conceptually difficult, but emotionally rich, with real craft behind it. If you’ve been meaning to get back to the NGV, this is a good reason to go.
Ragnar Kjartansson: Mercy — NGV International, 180 St Kilda Road. 26 June – 4 October 2026.Book tickets at ngv.vic.gov.au
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The Seniors in Melbourne team visited as guests of The Johnston Collection. All opinions are the writers’ own.
