Friðfinnsson was not only one of Iceland’s leading conceptual artists, but he himself could be considered a landscape, an atmosphere, a state of mind. His work has inspired younger generations of artists, such as Olafur Eliasson and Philippe Parreno, who have supported his work throughout the years. He was an artist’s artist in the truest sense of the phrase, but this has meant that his work has remained relatively unknown to the broader public.

Hreinn Friðfinnsson’s conceptual work has been characterized as poetic and playful, dealing often with storytelling, nature and time. It can be almost anything: a photograph, a story, a tracing, an atmosphere,a quasi-scientific experiment, a paint stirring stick or a secret. A split second up in the air between the years 1975 and 1976, one shoe searching for the other one to form a pair. His works are often structured around dualities and reversals. Both in form and content they are hard to pin down. The works remain in state of flux even after their conception, often older works are reused or expanded upon.

Born in 1943 in Baer Dölum, Iceland, Hreinn Friðfinnsson had been living in Amsterdam since 1971. He had exhibited internationally since the 1970s and had solo exhibitions at respected institutions such as the National Gallery (Reykjavík), the Serpentine Gallery (London) and Bergen Konsthall (Norway). In 2019-2020 a major retrospective To Catch a Fish with a Song: 1964-Today took place at KW Institute of Contemporary Art in Berlin and Centre d’Art Contemporain in Geneva. Amsterdam based venues such as Gallery 845 (1970’s), Galerie van Gelder (1990’s), Kunstverein (2015) and Eenwerk (2018) have hosted solo shows.

Works

Five Gates for the South Wind

I Collected Personal Secrets

Attending

House Project

Palace

Sanctuary

Suspended

Untitled (Vases)

Pair

Composition with Meteorites

Gallery exhibitions

Exhibitions

To catch a Fish with a Song

To catch a Fish with a Song

Skulptur Projekte 2017

Projects