Kristján 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 but enormously influential avant-garde movement called SÚM, which radically challenged and ultimately transformed the understanding of art-making in Iceland in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His artworks can be described as minimalist or conceptual, concise and clear. They explore issues of time, nature, and art in a very direct and often humorous or playful way.
The exhibition at Safn Berlin introduces early works by the artist that can be considered milestones in Guðmundsson’s career and his overall understanding of art and material. Part of the exhibition title refers to a work series from the 1970s, “Cause and Consequence”, in which Guðmundsson went through numerous possibilities of cause and consequence within geometric line structures.
