Ragnar Kjartansson in “Realms of the Real” – Season 12 | Art21

Art21 proudly presents an artist segment featuring Ragnar Kjartansson from the "Realms of the Real" episode in the twelfth season of the "Art in the Twenty-First Century" series. "Realms of the Real" premiered in February 2026 on PBS. This documentary short follows Ragnar Kjartansson as he describes his unique path to becoming an artist, reflects on decades of work in performance, film, painting, and music, and creates a new work, A Boy and a Girl and a Bush and a Bird (2025). Ragnar Kjartansson was born in 1976 in Reykjavik, Iceland, where he lives and works. Learn more about the artist: https://art21.org/ragnarkjartansson/ Support the production of films and educational materials about contemporary artists and art. Donate: https://art21.org/give/ CREDITS Director: Stephanie Wang-Breal Executive Producer: Tina Kukielski Series Producer: Nick Ravich Producer: Nan Sandle Editor: Colin Nusbaum Director of Photography: James Fideler Associate Producer: Andrea Chung Associate Curator: Jurrell Lewis Design & Animation: Momentist, Inc. Composer: Andrew Orkin Artwork Courtesy: Ragnar Kjartansson, i8 Gallery, Luhring Augustine Gallery. Special Thanks: The Art21 Board of Trustees, Markús Þór Andrésson, Guðrún Ásmundsdóttir, Anne Carson, Lilja Gunnarsdóttir, Henning Larsen Architects of Batterii® architects, Davíð Þór Jónsson, Ingibjörg Sigurjónsdóttir, Studio Ólafur Elíasson. Series Created By: Susan Dowling & Susan Sollins Full credits available at: https://art21.org/watch/art-in-the-tw... © 2026 Art21, Inc. "Art in the Twenty-First Century" is made possible with original production funding provided by The Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, Lambent Foundation, Agnes Gund, Melony and Adam Lewis, National Endowment for the Arts, Teiger Foundation, Sarah Arison, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Dealer Tire, Arts, Equity, & Education Fund™, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Elyse and Lawrence B. Benenson, Stephanie and Tim Ingrassia, Tim and Lauren Schrager Family Foundation. TRANSLATIONS Translated subtitles are generously contributed by our volunteer translation community. Visit our translation team at Amara for the full list of contributors: https://amara.org/teams/art21/ #RagnarKjartansson #Art21 #ArtInTheTwentyFirstCentury