Steinunn Thorarinsdottir

Icelandic

Steinunn Thorarinsdottir was born in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1955. She has lived in England and Italy where she was trained as sculptor. Steinunn has been working professionally for over 20 years and has exhibited widely in Europe, Japan, USA and Australia. Her works are in private, public and corporate collections around the world. She works in various forms of sculpture and uses many different materials for her artistic expression.

“Even though the pioneers of Icelandic sculpture focused for a long time on man himself as the center of their work, this changed as time passed. After the middle of the 20th century one can say that non representational abstract art took over and almost dictated sculpture for about thirty years. It was therefore a sudden change in Icelandic sculpture when Steinunn Thorarinsdottir put forward man as the principal subject in her first shows over two decades ago. This marked the beginning of a transition, that has been ongoing ever since where the fate of man has become the subject of an ever increasing number of artists. The analysis of the human condition is the central point in the works of Steinunn Thorarinsdottir and has as such been among the most graceful evidence of this emphasis in sculpture during the last two decades.”  (Excerpted from an article on the artist by  Eirikur Thorlaksson, Director of the Reykjavik Art Museum)

“Steinunn’s sculpture is elemental, extracted from raw material at it’s rawest; iron, glass, aluminium. It is not decorative nor can it be. The human figures are formed by the mass of the metal, taking shape as they emerge into the light from a molten swamp, rising up and stretching out, embracing our world but not of our world. There is solitude and pathos, but also strength and dignity. Great sculpture resonates with its environment, and Steinunn’s work is at its most powerful and provocative when it re-defines its natural surroundings. I do not know Iceland but I feel that the landscape of the country and its natural geology are the right settings for her work. There is tension in her figures and they do stand apart, as sentinels and observers of a barren yet beautiful land.” (Excerpt from an article on the artist by Peter Osborne, Director of the Berkeley Square Gallery in London, UK).

Works in Public Space

City of Reykjavik
National Gallery of Iceland
Monument in Sandgerði
Monument in Grundarfjörður
National Bank of Iceland
Akureyri Art Museum
The Catholic Church
The Royal Carribbean
Kathryn Hall Wineyards, California, USA
The Estate of Sir Rocco and Lady Forte, England
Collection of Carl XVI Gustav, the King of Sweden
American Seafoods, Seattle, USA
The State Hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark
The Danish Banker´s Association, Copenhagen, Denmark
The University of Aberdeen, Scotland
Elgiz Museum of Contemporary Art, Istanbul, Turkey
Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, Turkey
Cawdor Castle, Scotland
The Brauer Museum, Indiana, USA

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2013 Solti Gardens/Grant Park, Chicago, USA
Nordic House, Faroe Islands, Denmark
Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama, USA
Public Show in Dallas Arts District, Dallas, USA
2012 Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle, USA
Westlake Park, Seattle, USA
Scott White Contemporary, La Jolla, California, USA
Horizons, Knoxville Museum of Art, Tennessee, USA
2011 Situations, Public Show.  Economist Plaza, London, Osborne Samuel
Borders, Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, New York, NY, USA
Horizons, Georgia Art Museum, Athens, Georgia, USA
2009 Horizons, Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park, Illinois, USA
2008 Horizons, The Dixon Museum and Gardens, Memphis, Tennessee, USA Botanical Gardens in collaboration w. Blue Star Contemporary Center, Texas
2007 Osilas Gallery, Concordia College, NY, USA
Horizons, Katonah Museum Sculpture Garden, NY, USA
2006 101 Gallery, Reykjavik
Galerie Egelund, Copenhagen, Denmark
Inner Light, Odon Wagner Contemporary, Toronto, Canada
2005 The Lab Gallery, New York, USA
2003 The Goethe Institut, Toronto, Canada
2001 Galleria Bedoli, City of Viadana Museum,  Italy
2000 The Ásmundur Sveinsson Sculpture Museum/ Reykjavík Art Museum
Frauen Museum, Bonn, Germany

Selected Group Exhibitions

2013 Art Southampton, Scott White Contemporary, Southampton, USA
Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama, USA
2012 Toronto International Art Fair, Odon Wagner Contemporary, Canada
Sculpture by the Sea, Sydney, Australia
Art San Diego, Scott White Contemporary, USA
Art Southampton, NY, Scott White Contemporary,  USA
Sculpture by the Sea, Perth, Australia, Disinguished Invited Artist
Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, Scott White Contemporary, California, USA
2011 Los Angeles Art Show w. Scott White Contemporary, California, USA
Summer Show, Galerie Egelund, Copenhagen, Denmark
2010 Miami International Art Fair, Osborne Samuel, USA
Palm Beach Art Fair, Osborne Samuel, USA
San Francisco Art Fair, Scott White Contemporary, USA
Sculpture at Pilane, Sweden
Fresh Figures and Abstraction, Scott White Contemporary, USA
The San Diego Art Fair, Scott White Contemporary, USA
Contemporary Istanbul, HW13, Istanbul, Turkey
Art-Miami, Scott White Contemporary, Florida, USA
2009 Sculpture by the Sea, Århus, Denmark
Modern and Contemporary Art, Osborne Samuel, London, England
Summer show, Galerie Egelund, Copenhagen, Denmark
2008 The Secret Garden, Solomon Gallery@Iveagh, Dublin, Ireland
Toronto International Art Fair, Odon Wagner Contemporary, Canada
2006 Downtown at the Gardens, Osborne Samuel, Palm Beach, USA
Space, Art and the Environment, University of Iceland
Save the Children Auction, Festival of Trees, Iceland
Advent show in memory of Hallgrímur Pétursson, Hallgrims Church
2005 Art Miami, Odon Wagner Gallery, Miami, USA
Beijing Biennale, Beijing, China
2004 Art Miami, Odon Wagner Gallery, Miami, USA
2002-03 Icelandic Art 1980-2000, National Gallery of Iceland
2003 Haltestelle ! Kunst, Nurnberg, Germany
1987 Scandinavia Today, Kyoto & Tokyo, Japan

Education

1979-80 Accademia di Belle Arti, Bologna, Italy
1976-79 Portsmouth Polytechnic, BA in Fine Arts, Portsmouth, England
1974-75 Portsmouth College of Art & Design, Portsmouth, England