Steingrímur Gauti

I aim to express and examine basic forms of human emotions. In a sense you could say that most of my paintings are just a series of mistakes until they add up to something that works out aesthetically and emotionally. In a sense, a lot like life itself.

— Steingrímur Gauti

Born in Reykjavík, Iceland, in 1986, Steingrímur Gauti developed a passion for the arts during early youth, eventually graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Iceland University of Arts in 2015. Since then, he has been highly active in the art world, gaining international notice for his large-scale abstract paintings along with various projects in the local Icelandic arts scene. His works are currently featured in collections found in Iceland, Europe, USA and Asia.

Steingrímur primarily works in acrylics, along with a range of synthetic texture mediums, chalks and pigments. His most recent work includes large, sparse, abstract expanses on canvas, with childlike drawings and scribbles of sentences scattered, sometimes hidden, in the many layers of paint he applies.

Drawing inspiration from his surroundings — the often overwhelming Icelandic nature and the country's unpredictable, ever-changing weather — along with daily life and urban textures, his works are expressive and impulsive, yet delicate and nuanced. His visceral abstract language is reminiscent of both landscape painting and Twombly-esque graffiti, with the balance of thin and thick layers of paint, incoherent writing, and drawings peeking through — bringing the almost monochrome paintings to life. Like a dance.

Download Artist's CV

Born 1986 in Reykjavík, Iceland. Lives and works in Reykjavík Iceland.

Education

2015	BFA Fine Arts, Iceland University of the Arts
2010	The Reykjavík School of Visual Arts

Solo Exhibitions

2024	Galerie Marguo, Chop Wood, Carry Water, Paris, France
2022	Gallery Port, Mutes, Reykjavík, Iceland
2021	Galerie Marguo,Soft Approch, Paris, France
2020	Mokka, Vinnustofan (w. Halldór Ragnarsson), Reykjavík, Iceland
	Lumex Gallery, Untitled, Reykjavík, Iceland
	GK Gallery, Untitled, Reykjavík, Iceland
	Gallerí Grótta, Ný verk, Reykjavík, Iceland
2019	Gallery Kjallari, …en svo vissi ég minna, Reykjavík, Iceland
2018	Tveir Hrafnar, Ekki gera neitt, Reykjavík, Iceland
	SÍM Gallery, For the Time Being, Reykjavík, Iceland
	Mosfellsbær Art Gallery, Undir, Mosfellsbær, Iceland
2017	Mokka, Citius, Reykjavík, Iceland
	Ekkisens, Blues (w. Logi Bjarnason), Reykjavík, Iceland
	Icelandic Printmakers Association, Stund, Reykjavík, Iceland
2016	Gallery Port, Áferð / Texture (w. Kristín Morthens), Reykjavík, Iceland

Group Exhibitions

2023	Gallery Port, Kollegar, Reykjavík, Iceland
	Galerie Marguo, Art Paris 2023, Paris, France
	Listval, Mens et Manus, Copenhagen, Reykjavík, Iceland
2022	Galerie Marguo, ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair, Shanghai, China
	Galerie Marguo, Art Paris 2022, Paris, France
	Embassy of Iceland, Mens et Manus, Copenhagen, Denmark
2021	Galerie Marguo, ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair, Shanghai, China
	Galerie Marguo, Art Paris 2021, Paris, France
	Gallery Port, Innanyfir / Withinover (w. Áslaug Íris Katrín), Reykjavík, Iceland
	Galerie Marguo, Presentation of Marguo Artists, Paris, France
2020	Clandestina Gallery x DSQ Project Space, Vision Acuity, Miami, USA
	Art3f Art Fair via Van Gogh Art Gallery (Madrid), Monaco
	Listasafn Árnesinga Art Museum, Tíðarandi / Zeitgeist, Hveragerði, Iceland
2019	Hafnarborg Art Museum, Allt á sama tíma, Reykjavík, Iceland
2018	Plan-B Art Festival, Borgarnes, Iceland
2016	Plan-B Art Festival, Borgarnes, Iceland

Collections

YAGEO Foudation, Taipei, Taiwan

Start Museum, Shanghai, China

M Art Foundation, Shanghai, China

Awards & Residencies

2021	The Icelandic Visual Art Copyright Association (Myndstef), Project grant, Reykjavík, Iceland
	Banditto Art Residency, Winner Emerging Artist Award, Montefollonico, Italy
2019	Circolo Scandinavo (Skandinavisk Kunstforening), Artist in Residence, Rome, Italy