Icelandic Art - Contemporary Abstract Art
Iris Kristmunds is a contemporary Icelandic abstract artist.
“I am an engineer and a self-taught artist from Iceland. I always enjoyed art and the creative process but have paid little attention to it for the last 15 years due to work and raising children. After working as an IT manager in finance for over ten years, I decided to focus more on the things that filled me with joy and happiness and started painting.
I live in Reykjavík with my husband, two teenagers, and the family dog Lubbi (Coton de Tulear). I primarily paint for my own pleasure and enjoyment, but at the same time, I find it wonderful that my art interests others.”
Iris’s work is seemingly simple and minimalistic. Yet, she focuses on painting textures unlike many others: smooth, sandy, polished granite or volcanic rock. And then, there’s often a rhythm and melody in her work. Enough structure to pull it all together, with just enough freedom and movement to make things unpredictable, free-flowing, and lyrical.
Kjartan Guðbrandsson is an Icelandic abstract freestyle artist.
He is an accomplished athlete who competed internationally in bodybuilding, powerlifting, fitness, shooting, weight and power training, and horse riding.
“I am constantly rethinking who I am. A big part of my personality is learning something new. So, I’m not lazy and don’t like stagnating over the years. If the mind is like that, then the body follows the thought of always going forward and doing better.”
Kjartan’s work is reflective of the amazing world around him. Iceland is one of the youngest landmasses on the planet, a 25 million-year-old teenager. And maybe that’s why it’s full of exuberant energy of numerous waterfalls, lush green “50 shades of green” moss fields, incredible Moon-like landscapes with black sand beaches, red hot volcanoes ready to erupt at any moment, mysterious caves with icicle-shaped stalactites, deep blue crystalline glaciers, hot bubbly springs, and majestic Aurora Borealis in the arctic sky.
Encouraged by the long history of accomplished artists in his family, Kjartan decided to devote himself to art during the Covid-19 pandemic.
7 artworks