Guðmundur Thoroddsen (b. 1980) graduated with a BA degree from the Iceland Academy of the Arts in 2003 and an MFA degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 2011. He has held numerous solo exhibitions in Iceland, New York, and across Europe, with recent shows including Hendingar / Happenstance at Þula, IS, 2026, Up and Down at Asya Geisberg Gallery, New York (2025), Skriður / Drifts at Þula, Reykjavík (2024). Selected group exhibitions include Þverskurður / Cross Section at Þula, Reykjavík (2025), Nightshade: The World in the Evening at Oakland University Art Gallery, Michigan (2025), Some Recent Works – New Acquisitions at the National Gallery of Iceland (2023–24). His work has been reviewed in publications including Artforum, The New York Times, Time Out New York, Twin Magazine, and Dazed Digital.
Thoroddsen’s abstract paintings are deeply rooted in the Icelandic landscape, serving as a conceptual and atmospheric point of departure. Utilizing oil sticks that he crafts himself, he achieves a distinct surface quality and a rich visual texture, often contrasted with passages of brush-applied oil paint. This dialogue between density and openness across the canvas results in a practice that hovers between landscape, textile, and contemporary abstraction. His works are included in several major public and private collections.
Guðmundur Thoroddsen lives and works in Reykjavík, Iceland.