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

Selected Solo Exhibitions

Selected Group Exhibitions

Education