Kristín Gunn­laugs­dóttir: Unspoken

Kristín is one of the most prolific and beloved artists of contemporary Icelandic art, with numerous major exhibitions and works held in public collections.

Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir has gained recognition for her fearless approach to breaking apart and reassembling her visual language and methods. Drawing on centuries-old traditions of icon painting, she creates figurative works based on complex symbolic systems. She also produces abstract works that resonate with the expressive modes of modernism, as well as meticulously crafted embroidery pieces based on swift sketches – to name just a few examples. The exhibition offers a broad overview of her career, while also presenting new and unexpected works created specifically for this occasion.

Kristín’s art conveys emotion, both universal and personal. At the heart of her practice lies an inexhaustible interest in the human body. The body is not presented as a neutral form, but as a living vessel of emotion, identity, and spiritual inquiry. She is a master of capturing moments of stillness and vulnerability, where bodies – especially female bodies – appear in subjective spaces: elevated, dreamlike, humorous, or everyday. Through her images, we sense how she approaches the subject with respect, curiosity, and sensitivity to how the body and visual language can express what cannot be said in words. Carefully chosen clues – a pose, an object, a color, or a texture – guide the viewer in perceiving the unspoken.

Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir was born in 1963 and studied art at the Akureyri School of Visual Arts and the Icelandic College of Art and Crafts from 1983 to 1988. She then continued her studies abroad, focusing on icon painting at the convent of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in Rome, followed by studies at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence from 1987 to 1993. Kristín is the ninth artist selected for the Reykjavík Art Museum’s exhibition series at Kjarvalsstaðir, which highlights the careers of key figures in Icelandic art. Each artist is chosen for their unique contribution and specialization in terms of media, methods, and subject matter. This positioning is reflected in the presentation of key works from different periods in the West Gallery, accompanied by a catalogue that places the artist’s career in the context of art history and the present day.