"Can the Fine Art World Finally Stomach Sentiment?" by Blake Gopnik

Paradox is at the heart of a new video by the Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson, “Sunday Without Love,” which has its romantic side and undercuts it, too.

It’s the odd vintage postcard you could never resist at a thrift store.

In a field by a lake in some Alpine valley, a little crowd lolls about in period costume. Five men are in the blue smocks of 19th-century artists; four women are in that era’s frocks, shawls and bonnets. A final detail that’s vital: Breaking the chronology — pointing to the photograph’s postwar moment — one of the men is strumming an electric guitar.

That bizarre image has long hung on the fridge of the Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson, and it became the inspiration for his fascinating new video projection, titled “Sunday Without Love,” at Luhring Augustine gallery in New York through Dec. 20.

In a world drowning in irony and cynicism — easy to see why, in our moment — Kjartansson has dared to explore heartwarming sentiment. That makes his piece one of the most unusual, exciting works I’ve seen in a while.

Read full article at nytimes.com