The exhibition Rúna:type opens – Rúna said goodbye this week
The exhibition Rúna:font An exhibition will be opened at Hafnarborg today at 4 p.m. The exhibition focuses on the typography of the artist Rúna, Sigrún Guðjónsdóttir, who passed away recently in her hundredth year.
Rúna:font in Hafnarborg
We, the residents of Hafnarfjörður, are invited to attend the opening of the exhibition. Rúna:font at Hafnarborg in connection with Design March 2026 today, 7th May, between 16:00 and 18:00.
The exhibition focuses on the typography of the artist Rúna (Sigrún Guðjónsdóttir, b. 1926), which the graphic designer Elías Rúni has now recreated in digital form. The typeface originally appeared in the late 1950s in the book Merry evening, where its characteristic form and rhythm become clear, and which also bears the hallmark of its craftsmanship and the spirit of its age.
A long, unique career
Rúna said goodbye to us this week. As stated on the Hafnarborg Facebook page, Rúna was in her hundredth year, born in 1926. „With her passing, a long and unique career that left a profound mark on the history of Icelandic visual art and design comes to an end,“ it says.
„Rúna's life and art were inextricably linked. She worked in a diverse range of fields, from free artistic creation to design, and was a pioneer in Icelandic ceramics. During her career, she also had a successful collaboration with prestigious international design firms, as well as working on book illustration, writing, advertising and murals, including in collaboration with her husband, Gest Þorgrímsson. Rúna was the first ever artist-in-residence for the city of Hafnarfjörður, in 2005.
Rúna – Sigrún Guðjónsdóttir, Artist in Residence of Hafnarfjörður 2005. Photo: Guðni Gíslason
Remarkable in the history of design
The exhibition at Hafnarborg sheds light on the process behind the creation of the font, while also opening a window into a remarkable chapter of Icelandic design history. It is a work that brings together preservation and recreation, research and design, connecting the past with new uses in the contemporary world. By digitising the Runa typeface, under the name Runa, This important heritage of Icelandic typography is brought to the fore and given new life. The font will also be made available on the Hafnarborg website, where those interested will have the opportunity to download it for their own use.
Throughout a long and varied career, Rúnu's creative work has found expression in ceramics, book illustration, painting and design. She has received numerous accolades over the years, such as the Order of the Falcon and an honorary award from the Icelandic Design Awards.
Poetic rhythm
Representatives of Hafnarborg write. „Rúna's visual world is characterised by a lyrical rhythm, where female figures, birds, fish and natural forms are interwoven in colours and lines. Rúna's works bear a strong authorial signature and are a testament to an inexhaustible creativity and artistic flair. She has also received numerous accolades over the years, such as the Order of the Falcon and an honorary award from the Icelandic Design Awards, and was the first Artist in Residence for the City of Hafnarfjörður in 2005.