Brynhildur Thorgeirsdottir (b.1955) lives and works in Reykjavik, Iceland. In her career of more than forty years Brynhildur has held over twenty solo shows and participated in numerous group exhibitions both in Iceland and internationally. Her works are part of collections of art museums in Iceland and abroad, and commissions for her outdoor art can be seen in public spaces in Iceland, Sweden and Japan. 

When Brynhildur’s sculptures first appeared some four decades ago, they immediately attracted attention of critics and the public alike. Brynhildur became known for her intense working methods and the unusual combination of sand and glass, turning these materials into mysterious organic figures or powerful detached forms engaging in dialogue with each other and the viewer. 

Brynhildur has followed a distinct personal course within the realm of sculpture, using the aforementioned materials of glass, concrete and sand. Her works often have a strong connection with historical events, and an even stronger connection with nature and the land. Her relationship with the natural elements is the essence of her art. From a formal aspect, she sculpts her art, in the same way as nature itself works its wonders, allowing her work to emerge on its own in ever surprising ways. 

Brynhildur Thorgeirsdottir
Bakkastadir 113,
112 Reykjavik,
Iceland
Tel. +354 895 9897
Email: brynhildurth@gmail.com


Education

1982/1998/1999 Pilchuck Glass School. Stanwood, Washington, USA

1980-1982 California College of Arts and Crafts M.F.A. Oakland, California, USA

1980 Orrefors Glass School. Orrefors, Sweden

1979-1980 Gerrit Rietveld Academie. Amsterdam, Netherlands

1974-1978 Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts, Reykjavík, Iceland


Solo Exhibitions

2024 40 Years ... and more to go. Bakkastaðir, Reykjavík, Iceland  

2023 Earth Disturbance. The Sculpture Garden, Nýlendugata 17a, Reykjavík, Iceland 

2023 The Language of Material. The Icelandic Folk and Outsider Art Museum, Svalbarðseyri, Iceland 

2022 Landscape. A permanent installation – Sculpture Garden at Samherji, Dalvík, Iceland

2020 Project – Introduction on work of a sculptor. Bakkastaðir, Reykjavík, Iceland

2019 Natural Elements. The Reykjavík Art Museum – Ásmundarsafn, Reykjavík, Iceland

2015 Hugarlundur. The Art Gallery of ASI, Reykjavík, Iceland

2011 Gathering. The Art Gallery of ASI, Reykjavík, Iceland

2008 101 is on Fire. 101 Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland

2006 2005-1955 BRYNHILDUR. Gallery Lobster or Fame, Reykjavík, Iceland

2005 Visual World. Reykjavík Art Museum-Hafnarhús, Reykjavík, Iceland

2004 Sculptor of the month. Hafnafjörður Center of Culture and Fine Arts, Hafnafjörður, Iceland

2002 Open Spaces. Kópavogur Art Museum-Gerðarsafn, Kópavogur, Iceland

1999 Sculpture. The Art Gallery of ASI, Reykjavík, Iceland 

1996 Sculpture. Gerðuberg Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland

1996 Portrait. Gallery Sjónarhóll Reykjavík, Iceland

1994 Sculpture. Gallery Slunkaríki, Ísafjörður, Iceland 

1993 Sculpture. Gallery Okra, Vanda, Finland

1993 Strandhögg. The Living Art Museum, Reykjavík, Iceland

1990 Sculpture. Reykjavík Art Museum-Kjarvalsstaðir, Reykjavík, Iceland

1989 In the Viking Tradition. New York Experimental Glass Workshop, NY. USA 

1988 Sculpture. Gallery Svart á Hvítu, Reykjavík, Iceland

1986 Visiting Artist. New York Experimental Glass Workshop, NY. USA

1983 Sculpture. The Living Art Museum, Reykjavík, Iceland

1983 Sculpture. Gallery Langbrók, Reykjavík, Iceland

1982 Glass Studies. Graduate Center Gallery, CCAC, Oakland, CA. USA 


Group Exhibitions 

2023 Can´t See. Sequence Art Festival. Klink & Bang, Reykjavík, Iceland  

2023 Kaleidorcope: Icelandic 20th Century Art, Reykjavik Art Museum - Kjarvalsstaðir, Reykjavík, Iceland

2022 Resistance: Interplay of Art and Science, The House of Collection, Reykjavík, Iceland

2022 Cornerstone, LA. Art Museum, Hveragerði, Iceland

2020 Across The Golden Bridge. Reykjavík Association of Sculptors Outdoor Exhibition, Reykjavík, Iceland

2020 Greetings across the ocean. The North Atlantic House, Copenhagen, Denmark, Iceland

2019 Reviving Humanity Memorial. International project, Sharm El-sheikh, Egypt 

2019 Iceland Amy's Donation. The National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

2019 Islanders - when darkness falls. Venice Glass Week, Murano Island, Italy 

2018 Fresh Winds. International Art Biennale, Garður, Iceland 

2017 Considerable; Brynhildur Thorgeirsdóttir - Guðrún Tryggvadóttir. LA. Art Museum, Hveragerði, Iceland

2017 Happy People. The Living Art Museum, Reykjavík, Iceland

2015 The World Without Us. The Hafnarfjörður Center of Culture and Fine Arts, Iceland

2015 Women's Time-Here and Now, thirty years later, Reykjavík Art Museum, Kjarvalsstaðir, Iceland

2014 Glass. Nordic House, Torshavn, Faroe Islands

2013 Wheaton Glass: The Art of the Fellowship. Museum of American Glass Wheaton Arts, NJ, USA

2013 Birds. Gerðuberg Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland

2012 MHR 40 YEARS. Gallery Klink and Bang, Reykjavík, Iceland

 2012 European Glass Context. Bornholm Art Museum, Bornholm, Denmark

2011 Jór! Horses in Icelandic Art. Reykjavík Art Museum-Kjarvalsstaðir, Iceland  

2011 Glass 2011. Brenneriet, Gjörvik, Norway

2010 Icelandic Art of One Hundred Years. LA Art Museum, Hveragerði, Iceland

2010 Artfeast I. The Icelandic Folkand Outsider Art Museum, Svalbarðsströnd, Iceland 

2008 The Festival of the Trees. Gallery Sævars Karls, Reykjavík, Iceland

2007 To Move Mountains, LA. Art Museum, Hveragerði, Iceland

2007 Anima Gallery. Anima Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland

2007 Alas Natutre. National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

2006 The Painting after 1980. National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

2005 Island Kultur. Stockholms Auktionsverk, Stockholm, Sweden

2005 Reykjavík Association of Sculptors Exhibition. Hafnarborg, The Hafnarfjörður Center of Culture and Fine Arts, Iceland

2005 Icelandic Contemporary Glass. Natural History Museum of Kópavogur, Iceland

2004 Environment and Nature. National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

2003 This is What I Want to See! Gallery Gerðuberg, Reykjavík, Iceland

2002 Tranquil Light – Sacred Light. Kópavogur Art Museum-Gerðarsafn, Iceland

2002 Icelandic Art 1980-2000. National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

2001-2003 The Travelingwonder. Traveling exhibition: Ísafjörður– Akureyri – Seyðisfjörður - Vestmannaeyjar – Reykjavík, Iceland

2001 A View from Above - The Heklamountain Flight. Reykjavík Art Museum-Kjarvalsstaðir, Iceland

2001 From the Collection. National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

2001 Confronting Nature. Icelandic Art of the 20th Century, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC, USA

2001 Does the Goldcoast Still Inhale? Living Art Museum, Reykjavík, Iceland

2000 From the Collection. National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

2000 Quattro Stagioni. Konstens Hus, Luleå, Sweden 

1998 Lundur. Lunds Konsthall, Lund, Sweden

1998 On the Coastline. Reykjavík Association of Sculpture. Outdoor exhibition, Reykjavík, Iceland

1998 Duplicity and corporal beauty. Living Art Museum-Reykjavík Art Festival, Iceland

1997 Design Nordic Way. Kalmar, Sweden                     

1997 Contemporary Art in Snæfellsbæ, Ólafsvík, Iceland

1996 The Niijima Glass Art Center. Niijima, Japan

1995 Altitudes-Attitudes. Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, USA

1995 Skulpture. The Summer Art Festival '95, Outdoor Exhibition,  Akureyri, Iceland

1995 The Living Art Museum 17th Anniversary. Living Art Museum, Reykjavík, Iceland

1994 Vanersborg Glasfestival. Vanersborg, Sweden

1994 Scultpure, Sculpture, Sculpture. Reykjavík Art Museum-Kjarvalsstaðir, Iceland

1994 Í deiglunni. The Summer Art Festival '94, Akureyri, Iceland

1994 Art Festival of the Icelandic Republic. London, England 

1993 Zeit Sichten. Frauen Museum, Bonn, Germany

1993 The Reykjavík Sculpture Association Exhibition. Hveragerði, Iceland

1993 Norrsken-Biennal För Ung Nordisk Kunst. Kunsthallen Kunstmuseum, Gothenburg, Sweden 

1992 The Art Gallery in Tryggvagata, Reykjavík, Iceland

1992 Icelandic Contemporary Sculpture at the Reykjavík Art Festival. Kringlan, Iceland

1991-1992 Figura, Figura. Traveling exhibition: Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinborg, Scotland. Kunsthallen, Kunstmuseum, Gothenburg, Sweden. Reykjavík Art Museum-Kjarvalsstaðir, Reykjavík, Iceland

1991 Northern winds. Nissenhaus Nordfriesischen Museum, Husum, Germany

1991 International Sculpture Show. Art Festival at The Hafnarfjörður Center of Culture and Fine Arts, Iceland

1990 Focus På Island. Huset, Aalborg, Denmark

1990 On Common Ground. One Main Street Windows, Brooklyn, NY, USA

1990 Fragmente aus dem Norden. Kultur Favoriten, Vienna, Austria

1990 Fragments of the North. AFS Gallery, NY, USA

1989 10th Anniversary BWAC Group Exhibition & 7th Annual Outdoor Sculpture Show. Brooklyn, NY, USA

1988 The All Male Feminist Art Show. The New Brooklyn Waterfront Museum, Brooklyn, NY, USA

1988 Vital Signs. One Main Street Windows, Brooklyn, NY, USA

1987 7th International Small Sculpture Exhibition. Place of Exhibitions, Butapest, Hungary

1987 Artists of the Future. Reykjavík Art Museum-Kjarvalsstaðir, Reykjavík, Iceland

1987 Jumbo-Dumbo BWAC Group Exhibition, Brooklyn, NY, USA

1987 Jumbo-Dumbo BWAC Outdoor Sculpture Show, Brooklyn, NY, USA

1987 Five Icelandic Artists in New York. Privatbanken, New York, NY, USA

1986-1987 Miklatún – Manhattan. Traveling Exhibition: Joensuu Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland. Nordic Art Center, Sveaborg, Finland. Upplands Art Museum, Uppsala, Sweden. Sodertalje Art Museum, Sodertalje, Sweden. Gallery 15, Moss, Norway

1986 Women Artists. Gerðuberg Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland

1985 Here and Now. Reykjavík Art Museum-Kjarvalsstaðir, Reykjavík, Iceland

1985 Kunst Mit Eigen-Sin, International Women Exhibition. Museum des 20 Jahrhunderts, Vienna, Austria

1985 Nordic Glass. Nordic House, Reykjavík, Iceland

1985 Fragmented Glass. Reykjavík Art Museum-Kjarvalsstaðir, Iceland

1994 Fourteen Artists. National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

1994 Icelandic Artists in Palazzo. Culture House Palazzo, Liestal, Switcherland

1983 The Goldcoast Inhales. Jötunhúsið, Reykjavík, Iceland

1983 Nordic Glass 1983. Travelling Exhibition: Holmsgaards Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark. Kvadrat Gallery, Ebeltoft, Denmark

1993 Artists Coalition Group Exhibition. Reykjavík Art Museum-Kjarvalsstaðir, Iceland

1982 Seven Glass Sculptors. Sun Gallery, Haward, CA, USA

1983 Four Glass Graduate Students. California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA, USA


Grants and awards  

2020 Cultural grant in the wake of COVID 19. The City of Reykjavík, Iceland

2017 Artist State Grant for three months. Ministry of Culture, Iceland

2017 Visual Art Fund. Ministry of Culture, Iceland

2017 Iceland Structural Fund of South Iceland

2015 Artist State Grant for nine months. Ministry of Culture, Iceland

2012 The Icelandic Visual Arts Copyright Association Project fund

2010 Artist State Grant for one year. Ministry of Culture, Iceland

2010 Hlaðvarpinn. The Culture fund for Women, Iceland

2005 The Pollock-Krasner Grant. The Pollock-Krasner Foundation. New York. NY. USA

2005 The Icelandic Visual Arts Copyright Association Project Fund

2004 Artist State Grant for six months. Ministry of Culture, Iceland  

1999 Travelling Grant. Ministry of Culture, Iceland

1999 Artist State Grant for one year. Ministry of Culture, Iceland

1998 Travelling Grant. Icelandic Culture Fund

1995  Scandinavia-Japan Sasakawa Foundation, Japan

1993 Three Years Artist Grant from the City of Reykjavík, Iceland

1992 Residency Grant. The Culture Foundation of Iceland & Finland

1991 Artist State Grant for six months. Ministry of Culture, Iceland

1990 The Pollock-Krasner Grant. The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, New York, NY. USA

1990 Artist State Grant for three months. Ministry of Culture, Iceland

1989 Masterworks Fellowship. Creative Glass Center of America, NJ. USA

1985 Artist State Grant for one year. Ministry of Culture, Iceland

1985 Visiting Artist Grant. New York Experimental Glass Workshop, NY. USA

1985 Travelling Grant. Icelandic Culture Fund

1984 The Applied Arts Grant. Applied Arts Fund of Iceland.

1983 Artist State Grant for three months. Ministry of Culture, Iceland

1982 The Corning Price, Pilchuck Glass School, WA. USA

1981 The M.F.A. Ford Foundation Grant, California College of Arts and Crafts. USA


Work in Public Collections

Chrysler Museum of Arts – Glass Studio – Norfolk, VA. USA

World Youth Forum. International project in Sharm El-sheikh. Egypt

LA. Art Museum, Hveragerði, Iceland

Museum of Glass, Tacoma, WA. USA

City of Garður, Iceland

Traffpunt Stadsskogen, Alingsås Art Museum, Sweden

National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

Reykjavík Art Museum, Iceland

The Living Arts Museum, Reykjavík, Iceland

Kopavogur Art Museum-Gerðarsafn, Iceland

City of Akureyri, Iceland

City of Garðabær, Iceland

Krikaskóli - elementary school –Mosfellsbær, Iceland

Korpuskóli – elementary school – Reykjavík, Iceland

The Museum of American Glass at Wheaton Village, NJ. USA

The Art Museum of Vanda City, Finland

The Gothenburg Konstmuseum, Sweden

Art Museum, Vanersborg, Sweden

Niijima Glass Art Museum, Niijima, Japan 


Work in Private Collections

Samherji group, Dalvík, Iceland

Krauma Spa, Borgarfjörður, Iceland

Hilton Nordica, Reykjavík, Iceland

The University of Reykjavík, Iceland

The Bank of Iceland, Reykjavík

Brim Seafood, Reykjavík, Iceland

KG. Fish Industry, Hellissandur, Iceland

Norðurál Aluminum plant, Akrarnes,  Iceland 

Prentmet – printing house – Reykjavík, Iceland

The Museum of Niijima Glass Art Center, Japan

Icelandic School of Hotel and Catering, Kópavogur, Iceland

The Icelandic Horticultural College, Hveragerði, Iceland

Icelandair, Iceland

Atlanta Airlines, Iceland

The Agricultural Bank of Iceland

Eimskip, Iceland

Shell, Reykjavík, Iceland

Hotel 101, Reykjavík, Iceland

Deloitte& Touche, Reykjavík, Iceland

Icepan, Kópavogur, Iceland

The Cement factory, Reykjavík, Iceland

Sunnuhlíð Retirement Home, Kópavogur, Iceland

Furthermore, various work in the private collections of individual collectors in Iceland, USA, Europe and Japan 

Using Format