The House of Collections — Attraction in Reykjavik

Best to work your way down from the gallery on the top floor to the lesser historic pieces on the lowest level. The Culture House is an intriguing collection of Icelandic art and history, yet it comes across as somewhat of a mish-mash of ideas.

The artwork on the top floor mostly relates to man and his relationship with the island, the ash and pumice often underfoot suspended on the walls or vivid volcanic displays. Yet, as you go down broader and less unique ideas are brought into play. Man and his relationship with death, for one. With a model of the young deceased next to a now much older descendant.

The first floor is the most disappointing, though the former reading room is beautiful. Sparingly filled with old touristic leaflets, old books, and maps, it feels extremely empty. Compared to the upper floors it is disappointing, and as the material is away behind glass, somewhat dull.

I'd recommend a visit to the Culture House, particularly in conjunction with the Icelandic National Museum, but I was in here for 45 minutes. It is not worth the lone visit, unless you are particularly interested in the artwork on the...

The House of Collections is part of the National Gallery of Iceland which is shared across two locations. This early 20th-century library turned museum on Hverfisgata street as well as the main gallery which makes use of the early 20th-century icehouse building on Fríkirkjuvegur street facing Tjörnin Lake. Both museum locations are open from 10am to 5pm daily and share entry ticket of (2400kr - adults, 1200kr - students).

We visited both recently, spending just over 1 hour at the House of Collections which has considerably more works on display. Exhibitions are found on three floors and make very good use of the old library. We enjoyed viewing the mostly 19th and 20th century modern art by Icelandic artists. The exhibitions viewed at the Fríkirkjuvegur were interesting as well. Definitely worth the effort to visit both if you've interest in modern art and are planning your sightseeing endeavours...

If you only have time for only one art museum in Reykjavik, I would highly recommend this one. The museum is brilliantly curated and very true to its name: the collections are superb — untethered by time or style they explore the environmental themes of air, land and water/ocean.

The artwork is best viewed collection by collection. Despite different artistic styles, the collections present a unified thematic flavor and carry through the Icelandic spirit.

The building has unusual architectural features adding mystery and fun to the process of exploring it.

This is also a rare art museum that would be fun to visit with children — some areas have designated spaces and activities that can be done with children (of all ages).

The lighting is not the best in some rooms, but otherwise — a perfect art museum experience (and the best one out of 5 art museums we visited...