On Friday February 19th at 13:00, the artist group Gelitin will give an open lecture on their work and working methods in a live stream on behalf of the Department of Fine Art at the Iceland University of the Arts. The stream will be accessible at fineart.lhi.is.
Gelitin consists of four artists: Wolfgang Gantner, Ali Janka, Florian Reither and Tobias Urban. They met at a summer camp in 1978 and have worked and exhibited together since 1993. In their careers, they have exhibited e.g. at the Venice Biennale, the Shanghai Biennale, the Gagosian Gallery in New York and the Pompidou in Paris and beyond.
They have attracted a great deal of attention for their work that doesn‘t necessarily take place nor have connections within the walls of galleries or art institutions but more so with reality in its entirety. Their works can be drawings, sculptures, performances, travels or something else that reality has to offer. However, the body is often involved in the art of Gelitin and they often have performances where they play with and stretch the common language of the body.
Among things that Gelitin has said about their work; “People become physically in love with what we do. It is this “butterfly in the stomach” feeling that we try to create in everything we do. But in some of our works we also want to evoke horror, desire, severe sexual lust and other positive emotions. We use the materials readily available so our references become random.”
It is a great honor for the IUA to receive Gelitin for an electronic visit, where they will talk about their projects in recent years in their own chosen way.
The lecture will be held in English and is open to all. Further information about Gelitin is available on
their website.
