Kristján Gudmundsson : Paintings in Gray and White Frames

“I’m trying to work within the field of tension that exists between nothing and something.” — K.G.

::
acrylic on canvas, steel, enamel
70 3/4″ x 7 3/4″ x 1 3/4″
kristján gudmundsson
2008
::

::
acrylic on canvas, steel, enamel
15 3/4″ x 23 1/2″ x 1 3/4″
kristján gudmundsson
2009
::

::
acrylic on canvas, steel, enamel
15 3/4″ x 23 1/2″ x 1 3/4″
kristján gudmundsson
2008
::

Kristján Gudmundsson is an important and central figure of the first generation of Icelandic conceptual artists – intelligent, severe, humoristic and poetic. Gudmundsson began his career in the 1960s as a member of SÚM, a group of young artists, many of who were influenced by then-new currents in conceptual and installation art, mainly through the Fluxus movement. Kristján’s seemingly meandering oeuvre consisted of a series of works that were surprising in their manifestations and, despite their different appearance, formed an uncompromisingly consistent whole that respected the same values.

For his debut solo exhibition with Quint Contemporary Art, Gudmundsson exhibited new sound absorbing paintings. These works consisted of canvases painted in a single color and covered by mass-manufactured perforated grids normally used in the construction of sound-absorbing walls for building interiors. The result was simple but, as always with Kristján’s work, quite beautiful and multi-layered, evoking questions about the relationship of our different senses, the function of art and its possibilities.

Kristján Gudmundsson : Quint Contemporary Art

Azurebumble