Throughout his career, Kristján Gudmundsson has taken the most basic mechanical and material elements of drawing to their limits and, in the process, has challenged our underlying assumptions about what makes a “drawing”. Thereby, Guðmundsson creates artworks that capture the moment where concept collides with reality.
Kristján Guðmundsson (b. 1941, Iceland) lives and works in Reykjavik. He has exhibited widely in Europe and the United States, including recent exhibitions at Scandinavian House, New York, USA (2019); Rappaz Museum, Basel, Switzerland (2015); Safn, Berlin, Germany (2014); Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany (2012); MOCA, Los Angeles, USA (2012); Quint Contemporary Art, La Jolla, USA (2010); National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik (2009); and the Reykjavik Art Museum (2001).
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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 & 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 -
Kristján Guðmundsson & Donald Judd: Faster and Slower and Cause and Consequence
Safn, Berlin 12 Sep 2014 - 31 Jan 2015Kristján Guðmundsson is considered one of Iceland’s most well-known contemporary artists. A pioneer of Icelandic conceptual art, he played a vital role in the short-lived...Read more
b. 1941 on Snæfellsnes Peninsula
Lives and works in Reykjavik
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2020
Mostly Drawings, i8 Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland
2016
Olympic Drawings, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki, Finland
2015
Rappaz Museum, Basel, Switzerland
i8 Gallery, Reykjavik, Iceland
Marc Straus, New York, USA
2014
Tourist Poems & Olympic Drawings, Gallery Gamma, Reykjavík, Iceland
Exhibition Seconds, Skúrinn, Reykjavik, Iceland
Faster and Slower and Cause and Consequence (including works by Donald Judd), Safn, Berlin, Germany
2013
Dessins & Dessins Olympiques, Galerie Martine Thibault de la Châtre, Paris, France
2011
i8 Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland
Galerie van Gelder, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2010
Paintings in Grey and White Frames, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki, Finland
Paintings and Drawings, Galleri Riis, Oslo, Norway
Galleri Andersson Sandström, Umeå, Sweden
Paintings in Grey and White, Quint Contemporary Art, La Jolla, California, USA
Kristján Gudmundsson, Quint Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA, USA
2009
National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
2007
Drawings I-XV & Other Works, Safn, Reykjavik, Iceland
Galerie Anhava, Helsinki, Finland
2006
Blue Transmission, Galleri Riis, Oslo, Norway
2005
New Works, Galleri Stefan Andersson, Umeå, Sweden
2004
Architecture, i8 Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland
New Works, Listasafn Árnesinga, Hveragerdi, Iceland
Drawings, Sleeper Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
2003
Slunkaríki, Ísafjördur, Iceland
AP Galerie, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Kompan, Akureyri, Iceland
2002
Galerie Nordenhake, Berlin, Germany
Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, Norway
2001
Reykjavik Art Museum - Kjarvalsstadir, Reykjavik, Iceland
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024
Monochromy. On the aesthetics of published art, Weserburg Museum für moderne Kunst, Bremen, Germany
Experiments in Concretism, EMMA, Espoo, Finland
2023
hvað var - hvað er - hvað verður? ARS LONGA, Djúpivogur, Iceland
A Line has Time in it - Revision, Persons Project, Berlin, Germany
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, Iceland
2019
Rúllandi snjóbolti / 12, Djúpivogur, Iceland
Really, Sequences IX, Kling & Bang, Reykjavik, Iceland
Cutting Edges: Nordic Concrete Art from the Erling Neby Collection, Scandinavian House, New York, USA
2017
Rolling Snowball/9, Djúpivogur, Iceland
2017 1hv (w/ Örn Alexander Ámundason), Reykjavik, Iceland
Literally – Concrete Poetry in Iceland from 1957 to the Present Day, Hafnarborg, Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
2016
TEXT, National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
2015
Selected Portraits from the Collection of the National Gallery of Iceland – From the Rustic to the Selfie, National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
2014
Rolling Snowball 5, Djúpivogur, Iceland
Franz Graf: See What Sees You, The Belevedere, Vienna, Austria
DRAWN, Galerie Nordenhake, Berlin, Germany
Your Compound View – Selection from the collection from 1970-2010, Reykjavik Art Museum, Iceland
2013
Works on Paper, i8 Gallery, Reykjavik, Iceland
Embracing Impermanence, The Living Art Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland
B.A.B.E. – The Best Artist Books and Editions, Immanence – Espace d’art Contemporain, Paris, France
Elemental, Boden Arts Center, Boden, Sweden
2012
Hangman´s Rock – The Delirium of Vision, Reykjavík Art Museum - Kjarvalsstadir, Reykjavík, Iceland
Ends of the Earth: Land Art to 1974, MOCA Los Angeles, USA; Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany
Explorateurs, Musée de l'Abbaye Sainte‐Croix des Sables d'Olonne, France
Minning um Myndlist, ASÍ Art Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland
To Make a Show It Takes A Thought and More than One Word, Galerie van Gelder, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Galleri Riis, Oslo, Norway
2011
Arbeiten Aus dem Bleistiftgebiet, Van Horn, Düsseldorf, Germany (curated by Gregor Hildebrandt)
Perspectives - On the Borders of Art and Philosophy, Reykjavik Art Museum – Hafnarhus, Iceland
A for Artist / E for Exhibitions, Galerie van Gelder, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
TEXT, Kuckei + Kuckei, Berlin, Germany
Faster and Slower Lines - From the Collection of Pétur Arason and Ragna Róbertsdóttir, Reykjavík Art Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland
Kind Of Nice, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki, Finland
The Erling Neby Collection, Henie Onstad Art Centre, Høvikodden, Norway
Rolling snowball, Chinese European Art Center, Xiamen, China
2010
Winter Show, i8 Gallery, Reykjavik, Iceland
straumur / burðarás, Akureyri Art Museum, Akureyri, Iceland
Carnegie Art Award, National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland; The Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Stockholm, Sweden; Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, Norway; 798 Art Space, Beijing, China, 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
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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