Gerðarsafn Kópavogur Art Museum

About Gerðarsafn Kópavogur Art Museum

Gerðarsafn is the Kópavogur Art Museum, a modern and contemporary art museum at Hamraborg 4 in the center of Kópavogur, about 10 minutes' drive south of downtown Reykjavík. It opened in 1994 in memory of the artist Gerður Helgadóttir (1928–1975), and it's the only museum in Iceland built in honor of a woman artist.

Gerður was a pioneer of abstract sculpture and glass art in Iceland, and the museum holds more than 1,400 of her works. Its collection also includes 20th-century pieces by Barbara Árnason, Magnús Á. Árnason and Valgerður Briem, plus newer contemporary work.

The galleries mostly host changing exhibitions by Icelandic and international contemporary artists, shown alongside pieces from the collection. An hour covers the galleries comfortably, and there's a café on the first floor if you want to linger.

Gerðarsafn museum is open every day from 12:00 to 18:00. There's an admission fee for adults, with reduced tickets for students and seniors 67 and over, while children, young people under 18 and disabled visitors get in free.

Getting to Gerðarsafn without a car is easy, since frequent buses stop at Hamraborg right outside. The museum shares a small cultural quarter with the Salurinn concert hall and the town library, so it's simple to combine with a concert or a swim at Kópavogslaug nearby.