Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir
New Acquisitions to the Collection
18.05.2026 – 06.09.2026
Gallery 12
The Akureyri Art Museum has recently acquired five artworks by Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir—one as a gift from the artist herself and four from private donors. These additions significantly strengthen the museum’s collection and contribute to a more comprehensive view of the artist’s career.
Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir (b. 1963, Akureyri) studied at the Akureyri School of Visual Arts and the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts. She later trained in icon painting in Rome and completed her postgraduate studies at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence in 1994. Since graduating, she has worked continuously as an artist and participated in numerous exhibitions in Iceland and abroad. Her works are grounded in a strong connection to the classical tradition of painting, while also characterized by diverse techniques and materials. She works, among other media, with oil and egg tempera with gold leaf, as well as charcoal drawing and threads in her embroidered works.
Prior to these acquisitions, the museum held already three works by Kristín in its collection, all from a defined period in the 1990s. This offered only a limited insight into the development of her practice over time. The five newly acquired works have been selected to better reflect her whole carreer; different periods, methods, and thematic concerns in her artistic creations over recent decades.
The works span a broad range within Kristín’s career, from early pieces shaped by classical visual traditions to more recent works that engage both figurative and abstract approaches. They are unified by a distinct artistic voice in which symbolic imagery intersects with contemporary material practices.
With these new acquisitions, the Akureyri Art Museum is better equipped to present the development and distinctive qualities of Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir’s work and to place her contribution within the context of contemporary Icelandic art.
