Gerdarsafn - Kópavogur Art Museum

The museum Gerðarsafn is named after sculptor Gerður Helgadóttir, who passed away in 1975 at only 47 years of age. In 1977, her heirs donated approximately 1,400 of her works to the municipality of Kópavogur on the condition that a museum bearing her name would be opened, which came to pass on 17 April 1994.

Gerðarsafn is a progressive museum with an emphasis on modern and contemporary art, located in the heart of Kópavogur.  The museum stands at the edge of Borgarholt hill, on top of which is the church that has become a symbol of Kópavogur. The delicate scale and proportions of the church influenced the shape of the museum building.In order to better integrate the museum and the church, the museum building was split into two smaller units, individual houses joined by a glass structure.  The cladding of the buildings is reddish granite, the colour and material chosen to match the natural colours of the surrounding terrain. Both exhibition galleries on the upper floor have overhead lighting. Diverging glass in the windows lets soft light into the galleries, which is particularly suitable for painting exhibitions. At the south end of the lower floor is a cafeteria (closed at the moment) under a glass dome where the two upper exhibition galleries are connected by a small bridge. The lower floor also has an exhibition gallery, originally intended as a multi-purpose hall, offices, a storage area, a technical centre, bathrooms and more.