Artist Statement – Ingunn Fjóla Ingþórsdóttir
Painting is the foundation of my art practice and the conceptual ground from which my work emerges. While I work across installations, painting, weaving, and drawing, I consistently return to painting as a system of thinking – one that allows me to examine structure, color, rhythm, and materiality while pushing beyond the traditional limits of the medium.
Color plays a vital role in this exploration. I approach color both as a sensory phenomenon, a carrier of meaning, and a subject in its own right. I am interested in the unstable nature of color and the tension between its sensory impact and cultural coding – how colors can take on different associations depending on context, culture, or historical moment, and how they shift according to lighting conditions and interaction with other colors. In my woven and painted works, color may be applied intuitively, systematically, or in a rule-driven manner, often oscillating between emotional resonance and functional use.
The crossover between painting and weaving is the main focus of my artistic practice at the moment. In recent years, I have been developing new works that combine the possibilities of these different, yet historically connected, media. I combine painted wooden frames with woven sections produced through a slow process in which the threads are painted while working on the loom. This methodical process offers a high degree of control over color and composition, while the physical constraints of the loom introduce their own logic and unpredictability. Painting, in turn, absorbs qualities from weaving: repetition, rhythm, and an attention to structure that unfolds over time.
Many of my works engage with systems and systematic thinking. Grids and patterns are recurring motifs, referencing the systems we use to organize information and navigate the world – whether in Excel sheets, architectural drawings, or traffic planning—as well as broader ideological and technological systems that quietly structure our daily lives. I am drawn to the human desire for order and balance, as well as the impulse to resist excessive regulation. In my work, I often begin with a base pattern that is disrupted through the behavior of the materials or the imperfections of the hand, revealing moments of instability and transformation. This tension between control and unpredictability is central to my process.
CV – Curriculum Vitae
Ingunn Fjola Ingthorsdottir
Education
2015-2017 Iceland Academy of the Arts, M.a. Fine Art
2016 Exchange studies at Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm
2003-2007 Iceland Academy of the Arts, B.a. Fine Art
1999-2002 Aarhus University, Denmark, B.a. Art History
1998-1999 Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts, Painting Department
1998-2000 Icelandic College of Arts and Craft, Foundation year
Solo Exhibitions
2025 Woven Light, Painted Depths, 57W5, New York, USA
2024 Palebright Beamdeep / Fölbjartur skærdjúpur, Listval, Reykjavík, Iceland
2023 Resonance / Endurvarp, Listval, Reykjavík, Iceland
2022 The Only Constant is Change / Ekkert er víst nema að allt breytist,
National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík
2022 You are the Input / Þú ert kveikjan, LÁ Art Museum, Hveragerði, Iceland
2021 Chaos Theory / Óreiðukenningin, Listval / Norr11, Reykjavík
2020 Image afterimage / Mynd eftirmynd, Kompan- Alþýðuhúsið, Siglufjörður, Iceland
2019 You are the Input, Galerie Herold, Bremen, Germany
2018 In sight / Í sjónmáli, Hof, Akureyri, Iceland
2018 As the play unfolds / Í framvindu leiksins, 002 Gallerí, Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
2014 (Ó)stöðugir hlutir / (Un)steady objects, Týsgallerí, Reykjavík, Iceland
2010 Painting Site, Gallerí Ágúst, Reykjavík, Iceland
2010 Ljósbrot / Prism, Hafnarborg, Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
2008 Painting Site, Cuxhavener Kunstverein, Cuxhaven, Germany
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025 Art is our only hope! / List er okkar eina von! Reykjavík Art Museum, Iceland
2024 Textile Takeover, Scandinavia House, New York, USA
2024 Coincidentally, we see abstractly / Við sjáum óvænt abstrakt, National Gallery of Iceland,
Reykjavík
2024 Creation of Childhood 2024 / Sköpun bernskunnar, Akureyri Art Museum, Iceland
2023 Kaleidoscope: Icelandic 20th Century Art, Reykjavík Art Museum, Iceland
2023 Samhljómur / Harmony, Iceland Embassy, Copenhagen, Denmark
2022 Tectonic Threads, Monira Foundation / Mana Contemporary, New Jersey, USA
2022 Hnikun / Shift, Sláturhúsið Menningarmiðstöð, Egilsstaðir, Iceland
2021 Fjölfeldi – Hlutfeldi – Margfeldi, Reykjanes Art Museum, Keflavík, Iceland
2021 Moments Unfolding / Efnisgerð augnablik, The Living Art Museum, Reykjavík, Iceland
2020 Prefab / Forsmíð, Skaftfell, Seyðisfjörður, Iceland
2020 Threads of Art / Listþræðir, National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík
2020 Zeitgeist / Tíðarandi, LÁ Art Museum, Hveragerði, Iceland
2018 BY SIDE / VIÐ HLIÐ, Verksmiðjan Hjalteyri, Iceland
2018 Light and reflection, Projektraum Künstlerinnenverband Bremen, Germany
2017 Bending, Berg Contemporary, Reykjavík, Iceland
2017 Painting – Not a Medium / Málverk – ekki miðill, Hafnarborg, Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
2016 Lightpaint / Ljósmálun, National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík
2015 Fletir, Arion bank, Reykjavík, Iceland
2014 Píanó, National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík
2014 Ég hef aldrei séð fígúratíft rafmagn, Reykjavik Art Museum, Iceland
2013 Lög unga fólksins, Reykjanes Art Museum, Keflavík, Iceland
2012 Nautn og notagildi, LÁ Art Museum, Hveragerði, Iceland
2012 Rými málverksins, Akureyri Art Museum, Akureyri, Iceland
2011 Modern Talking, Cluj Museum, Cluj, Rumenia
2011 Island, 22 artists on Iceland, CAVE, Detroit (Hugsteypan)
2011 Four Rooms, Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw, Poland
2011 Í bili / In Between, Hafnarborg, Hafnarfjörður, Iceland (Hugsteypan)
2011 Painting Overall, Prague Biennale, Prague, Check Republic
2011 Heyr á Endemi, Kling & Bang Gallerí, Reykjavík, Iceland (Hugsteypan)
2010 Flushed, Nordic House, Reykjavík, Iceland
2010 Acknowledging knowledge / Að þekkjast þekkinguna, LÁ Art Museum, Hveragerði, Iceland (Hugsteypan)
2010 Flown In, UALR Gallery, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA (Hugsteypan)
2009 ARTVILNIUS´09, Contemporary International Art Fair, Vilnius, Litháen (Hugsteypan)
2008 Flökt/Flutter, Start Art, Reykjavík, Iceland (Hugsteypan)
2008 Aurora Borealis, Magnetism and Light, Spedition, Bremen, Germany
2008 Í grænni lautu, The Icelandic Printmakers´ Association, Reykjavík, Iceland
2008 Hafnfirskir myndlistarmenn 2008, Hafnarborg, Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
2006 Hotspo(r)t, Kunstverein Springhornhof, Neuenkirchen, Germany
Awards
2022 Guðmunda S. Kristinsdóttir Art Fund, Award for Outstanding Female Artists.
2012 Styrktarsjóður Svavars Guðnasonar og Ástu Eiríksdóttur, Young Artist Award
2009 Young Artist Award, Hafnarfjörður municipality
Selected Grants
2023 Icelandic Visual Arts Fund, project grant
2022 Icelandic Visual Artists´ Salary Fund, six months stipend
2021 Icelandic Visual Arts Fund, project grant
2021 Icelandic Visual Artists´ Salary Fund, twelve months stipend
2020 Myndstef, project grant
2020 Icelandic Visual Artists´ Salary Fund, three months stipend
2020 Icelandic Visual Arts Fund, project grant
2019 Icelandic Visual Arts Fund, project grant
2019 Icelandic Visual Artists´ Salary Fund, nine months stipend
2018 Icelandic Visual Artists´ Salary Fund, three months stipend,
2014 Icelandic Visual Artists´ Salary Fund, three months stipend
2013 Icelandic Visual Artists´ Salary Fund, three months stipend
2012 Icelandic Visual Artists´ Salary Fund, six months stipend
2011 Myndstef, project grant
2011 Icelandic Visual Arts Fund, Project grant
2008 Myndstef, project grant
2008 Hafnarfjörður Municipality, project grant
Works in public collections
National Gallery of Iceland / Listasafn Íslands
Reykjavík Art Museum / Listasafn Reykjavíkur
Hafnarborg, Centre of Culture and Fine Art, Hafnarfjörður
LÁ Art Museum / Listasafn Árnesinga, Hveragerði
University of Iceland / Listasafn Háskóli Íslands
Memberships
BKF – Billedkunstnernes Forbund
SÍM – The Association of Icelandic Visual Artists
The Living Art Museum
