Throughout his career, Kristján Guðmundsson has investigated the boundaries and essence of artistic mediums, as well as tested the nature and limits of our ideas about time and space. He was a key member of SÚM gallery, an artist-run space organised by a group of artists in Iceland influenced by Fluxus and Art Povera. SÚM broke with artistic tradition and ignited a shift in the Icelandic art world in the mid-1960s. Guðmundsson acted as the head of the gallery its first year before he moved to Amsterdam in 1970, where he lived for the next decade.
Kristján Guðmundsson (b. 1941, Snæfellsnes, Iceland) lives and works in Reykjavik. He has exhibited widely in Europe and the United States, including exhibitions at Scandinavian House, New York, USA; Rappaz Museum, Basel, Switzerland; Safn, Berlin, Germany; Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany; MOCA, Los Angeles, USA; Quint Contemporary Art, La Jolla, USA; National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik; the Reykjavik Art Museum, Iceland; Malmö Kunsthall, Malmö, Sweden; Bozar, Brussel, Belgium; Kunstmuseum Luzern, Luzern, Switzerland; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and Centre Pompidou, Paris, France. In 1982, the artist represented Iceland at the Venice Biennale; in 2010, he received the Carnegie Art Award; and in 2022, he received the Honorary Award from the Icelandic Visual Arts Council for his long and successful career, which has made a significant mark on the history of Icelandic art.
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Kristján Guðmundsson
As Far as the Space Allows 30 Jan - 22 Mar 2025i8 Gallery is pleased to present As Far as the Space Allows, an exhibition of new work by Kristján Guðmundsson, on view from 30 January until 22 March 2025. The...Read more -
Sea Lava Circle: Works from the Pétur Arason & Ragna Róbertsdóttir Collection
16 Jun - 30 Jul 2022 i8 Galleryi8 Gallery is pleased to present Sea Lava Circle: Works from the Pétur Arason and Ragna Róbertsdóttir Collection, which will be on view at the gallery from 16 June to...Read more -
KRISTJÁN GUÐMUNDSSON
Mostly Drawings 14 May - 20 Jun 2020 i8 GalleryKristján Guðmundsson has for years been making drawings about drawing, but there is a temptation to think of the various works within this genre rather as a single drawing extended...Read more -
KRISTJÁN GUÐMUNDSSON
Works from 1972 - 1989 3 Sep - 24 Oct 2015 i8 GalleryThis exhibition outlines a great research and development period in Kristján Guðmundsson’s art, where he took on the perimeters of the drawing, and finally succeeded in finding it a three...Read more -
Works on Paper
Birgir Andrésson, Hildigunnur Birgisdóttir, Hreinn Friðfinnsson, Ignacio Uriarte, Janice Kerbel, Karin Sander, Kristján Guðmunddsson, Lawrence Weiner, Ólafur Elíasson, Ragna Róbertsdóttir and more 5 Sep - 31 Oct 2013 i8 GalleryFeaturing 30 artists, Works on Paper uses the conventional subtitle as title to emphasize the exhibition’s shift in focus; from paper as merely media toward a wider interpretation for its...Read more -
KRISTJÁN GUÐMUNDSSON
9 Jun - 23 Jul 2011 i8 GalleryKristján Gudmundsson’s body of work seeks to lay bare the essence of art and the fundamental properties of its language. Throughout his career, Gudmundsson has taken the most basic mechanical...Read more -
Winter Show
Karin Sander, Þór Vigfússon, Ólafur Elíasson, Hreinn Friðfinnsson, Kristján Guðmundsson, Ragna Róbertsdóttir, Ragnar Kjartansson, Sigurður Guðmundsson, Lawrence Weiner and more 13 Dec 2008 - 10 Jan 2009 i8 GalleryNew works by Karin Sander, Þór Vigfússon, Kelly Jazvac, Ólafur Elíasson, Gabríela Friðriksdóttir, Hreinn Friðfinnsson, Finnbogi Pétursson, Ívar Valgarðsson, Guðrún Einarsdóttir, A.K Dolven, Kristján Guðmundsson, Hrafnkell Sigurðsson, Ragna Róbertsdóttir, Ragnar...Read more -
KRISTJÁN GUÐMUNDSSON
Architecture 4 Nov - 18 Dec 2004 i8 GalleryKristján Gudmundsson was one of the principal figures in the short-lived, but enormously influential, movement of progressive artists called SUM, which radically challenged and ultimately renewed art-making in Iceland in...Read more -
KRISTJÁN GUÐMUNDSSON
Paintings and Drawings 9 Sep - 10 Oct 1999 i8 GalleryRead more -
KRISTJÁN GUÐMUNDSSON
New Works 20 Feb - 23 Mar 1997 i8 GalleryRead more
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Kristján Guðmundsson: Eight Etchings
Akureyri Art Museum 25 Jan - 4 May 2025Kristján Guðmundsson's solo exhibition 'Eight Etchings' in 2025 at Akureyri Art Museum.Read more -
Kristján Guðmundsson & Ragna Róbertsdóttir: Experiments in Concretism
EMMA, Espoo 6 Mar 2024 - 2 Mar 2025EMMA’s collection exhibition offers a fresh take on the long tradition and contemporary forms of concrete art. Featuring work by more than fifty artists, the...Read more -
Are You Glad if You Can ask Something?
LÁ Art Museum, Hveragerði, Iceland 4 Jun - 4 Sep 2022A group show featuring works by i8 artists Ingólfur Arnarson, Eggert Pétursson, Kristján Guðmundsson, and Sigurður Guðmundsson opened June 4th at Iceland's LÁ Art Museum...Read more -
ETERNAL RECURRENCE
Kjarvalsstaðir, Reykjavik Art Museum 27 Mar - 19 Sep 2021In this extensive exhibition, the works of Jóhannes S. Kjarval (1885-1972) create a thread which connects different periods in time. His art is displayed along...Read more
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CHART 2024
Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, Denmark 29 Aug - 1 Sep 2024i8 Gallery's presentation at Chart 2024 features artworks by established artists associated with the gallery’s history. The exhibition showcases important works from each artist’s respective...Read more -
Market 2023
Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden 12 - 14 May 2023i8 Gallery returns to Stockholm for Market Art Fair presenting works by Alicja Kwade, Callum Innes, Ólafur Elíasson, Kristján Guðmundsson, and Yui Yaegashi.Read more -
Frieze London 2020
8 - 11 Oct 2020Read more
b. 1941 on Snæfellsnes Peninsula
Lives and works in Reykjavik
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025
As Far as the Space Allows, i8 Gallery, Reykjavík
Eight Etchings, Akureyri Art Museum, Akureyri
2020
Mostly Drawings, i8 Gallery, Reykjavík
2016
Olympic Drawings, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
2015
Rappaz Museum, Basel
i8 Gallery, Reykjavik
Marc Straus, New York
2014
Tourist Poems & Olympic Drawings, Gallery Gamma, Reykjavík
Exhibition Seconds, Skúrinn, Reykjavik
Faster and Slower and Cause and Consequence (including works by Donald Judd), Safn, Berlin
2013
Dessins & Dessins Olympiques, Galerie Martine Thibault de la Châtre, Paris
2011
i8 Gallery, Reykjavík
Galerie van Gelder, Amsterdam
2010
Paintings in Grey and White Frames, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
Paintings and Drawings, Galleri Riis, Oslo
Galleri Andersson Sandström, Umeå
Paintings in Grey and White, Quint Contemporary Art, La Jolla
Kristján Gudmundsson, Quint Contemporary Art, La Jolla
2009
National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík
2007
Drawings I-XV & Other Works, Safn, Reykjavik
Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
2006
Blue Transmission, Galleri Riis, Oslo
2005
New Works, Galleri Stefan Andersson, Umeå
2004
Architecture, i8 Gallery, Reykjavík
New Works, LÁ Art Museum, Hveragerdi
Drawings, Sleeper Gallery, Edinburgh
2003
Slunkaríki, Ísafjördur
AP Galerie, Amsterdam
Kompan, Akureyri
2002
Galerie Nordenhake, Berlin
Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo
2001
Reykjavik Art Museum - Kjarvalsstadir, Reykjavik
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024
Monochromy. On the aesthetics of published art, Weserburg Museum für moderne Kunst, Bremen
Experiments in Concretism, EMMA, Espoo
2023
hvað var - hvað er - hvað verður? ARS LONGA, Djúpivogur
A Line has Time in it - Revision, Persons Project, Berlin
2022
Sea Lava Circle: Works from the Pétur Arason and Ragna Róbertsdóttir Collection, i8 Gallery, Reykjavik
Are you glad if you can ask something?, LÁ Art Museum, Hveragerði
2019
Rúllandi snjóbolti / 12, Djúpivogur
Really, Sequences IX, Kling & Bang, Reykjavik
Cutting Edges: Nordic Concrete Art from the Erling Neby Collection, Scandinavian House, New York
2017
Rolling Snowball/9, Djúpivogur
2017 1hv (w/ Örn Alexander Ámundason), Reykjavik
Literally – Concrete Poetry in Iceland from 1957 to the Present Day, Hafnarborg, Hafnarfjörður
2016
TEXT, National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik
2015
Selected Portraits from the Collection of the National Gallery of Iceland – From the Rustic to the Selfie, National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik
2014
Rolling Snowball 5, Djúpivogur
Franz Graf: See What Sees You, The Belevedere, Vienna
DRAWN, Galerie Nordenhake, Berlin
Your Compound View – Selection from the collection from 1970-2010, Reykjavik Art Museum, Reykjavik
2013
Works on Paper, i8 Gallery, Reykjavik
Embracing Impermanence, The Living Art Museum, Reykjavik
B.A.B.E. – The Best Artist Books and Editions, Immanence – Espace d’art Contemporain, Paris
Elemental, Boden Arts Center, Boden
2012
Hangman's Rock – The Delirium of Vision, Reykjavík Art Museum - Kjarvalsstadir, Reykjavík
Ends of the Earth: Land Art to 1974, MOCA Los Angeles, USA; Haus der Kunst, Munich
Explorateurs, Musée de l'Abbaye Sainte‐Croix des Sables d'Olonne, Sables d'Olonne
Minning um Myndlist, ASÍ Art Museum, Reykjavik
To Make a Show It Takes A Thought and More than One Word, Galerie van Gelder, Amsterdam
Galleri Riis, Oslo,
2011
Arbeiten Aus dem Bleistiftgebiet, Van Horn, Düsseldorf
Perspectives - On the Borders of Art and Philosophy, Reykjavik Art Museum – Hafnarhus, Reykjavik
A for Artist / E for Exhibitions, Galerie van Gelder, Amsterdam
TEXT, Kuckei + Kuckei, Berlin
Faster and Slower Lines - From the Collection of Pétur Arason and Ragna Róbertsdóttir, Reykjavík Art Museum, Reykjavik
Kind Of Nice, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
The Erling Neby Collection, Henie Onstad Art Centre, Høvikodden
Rolling snowball, Chinese European Art Center, Xiamen
2010
Winter Show, i8 Gallery, Reykjavik
straumur / burðarás, Akureyri Art Museum, Akureyri
Carnegie Art Award, National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik; The Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Stockholm; Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo; 798 Art Space, Beijing, Royal College of Art, London, UK; Kunsthalle Helsinki, Finland; Centre International d´Art Contemporain, Carros/Nice, France
Abstract, Almost Abstract II, Galerie van Gelder, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Starter Works from the Vehbi Koç Foundation Contemporary Art Collection, Arter ‐ Space for Art, Istanbul, Turkey
2009
Carnegie Art Award 2010, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, Denmark
Central Periphery, RMIT Gallery, Melbourne, Australia (curated by Alan Johnston)
Latte in Watte, Galleri Riis, Oslo, Norway
In Deep Water, Hafnarborg, Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
Islands & Ghettos, Über territoriale Segregation in Städten des 21. Jahrhundert, Kunstraum Kreuzberg / Bethanien, Berlin, Germany; NGBK / Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst, Berlin, Germany
Several Friends, National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
2008
Ad Absurdum - Energies of the Absurd From Modernity to Contemporary Art, Marta Herford, Germany
Dreams of the Sublime and Nowhere, Reykjavík Art Museum - Kjarvalsstadir, Reykjavik, Iceland
Icelandic Art, with Thor Vigfusson, Quint Contemporary Art, La Jolla, USA
Islands & Ghettos, Heidelberger Kunstverein, Heidelberg, Germany
No TV on Thursdays, Galerie van Gelder, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Lika för lika, Gävle Konstcentrum, Gävle, Sweden
2007
Drawing A Tiger, Galerie Nordenhake, Berlin, Germany
Colour First, Galerie van Gelder, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Im Fluss, Neues Museum Weserburg, Bremen, Germany
Gjensyn og fremtiden (Future Revisited), Vigeland museet, Oslo, Norway
2006
In Between - from the collection, Nordiska Akvarellmuseet, Skärhamn, Sweden
Regarding facts, Galerie van Gelder, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Næsti bar, with Sigurdur Gudmundsson, Reykjavik, Iceland (curated by Ólafur Ó. Lárusson)
2005
Material Time, Life Time, Work Time, Reykjavík Arts Festival, Gerðarsafn - Kópavogur Art Museum, Iceland
Skyndikynni, Reykjavíkurakademían, Reykjavík, Iceland
Winterly Cold, Galerie van Gelder, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Touché, Galerie Michael Sturm, Stuttgart, Germany
2003
Sea and Music, Xiamen, China
Meistarar Formsins, Akureyri Art Museum, Akureyri, Iceland
2002
BLUE, Place Arte Contemporanea, Cavagnolo, Italy
D.R.A., Álafoss, Mosfellsbær, Iceland
Carnegie Award, Victoria Miro Gallery, London, UK
COLLECTIONS
Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland
Stedelijk Museum Voor Actuele Kunst, Gent, Belgium
City of Espoo, Finland
B.K.R., Amsterdam, The Netherlands
National Gallery of Iceland
Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
Städisches Museum Abteiberg, Mönchengladbach, Germany
Safn, Reykjavik, Iceland
Saastamoinen Foundation, Helsinki, Finland
Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden
Reykjavik Art Museum, Iceland
The Nordic Watercolour Museum, Skärhamn, Sweden
Fonds National d'Art Contemporain, Puteaux, France
Museum of Contemporary Art, Oslo, Norway
Living Art Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Skjerstad Kommune, Norway
Frankel Foundation, Michigan, USA