Finding subjects in his closest surroundings, Birgir Andrésson explored history and memory, as well as the spoken and written word throughout his practice. Andrésson’s interest in methods of communication was heightened by growing up as a sighted person with blind parents in a home for the visually impaired. The reliance on the spoken word in Andrésson’s life created a heightened response to language and its descriptive powers. In addition to language, elements of humour, as well as national and personal identity, are important to his practice.
Birgir Andrésson (b. 1955, d. 2007) lived and worked in Reykjavik, Iceland. His work was the subject of a major retrospective at the Reykjavik Art Museum in 2022. In addition to representing Iceland at the Venice Biennale in 1995, the artist had solo exhibitions at venues including The National Gallery of Iceland (2006); Kunsthaus Pasquart, Switzerland (1991); and Stadtgalerie Bern, Switzerland (1997).
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Birgir Andrésson & Lawrence Weiner
Part 1 & 2 30 Mar - 1 Jul 2023 i8 Galleryi8 is pleased to present a two-part exhibition featuring work by Birgir Andrésson (1955-2007, Iceland) and Lawrence Weiner (1942-2021, United States). The first iteration of the exhibition is on view...Read more -
Sea Lava Circle: Works from the Pétur Arason & Ragna Róbertsdóttir Collection
16 Jun - 30 Jul 2022 i8 Galleryi8 Gallery is pleased to present Sea Lava Circle: Works from the Pétur Arason and Ragna Róbertsdóttir Collection , which will be on view at the gallery from 16 June...Read more -
No.9 Cork Street
BIRGIR ANDRÉSSON, B. INGRID OLSON, RAGNA RÓBERTSDÓTTIR 4 - 20 Nov 2021 OtherAt Frieze No. 9 Cork Street, i8 Gallery will present an exhibition of work by three gallery artists: Birgir Andrésson, B. Ingrid Olson, and Ragna Róbertsdóttir. The exhibition opens on...Read more -
4 Parts Divided
SIGURÐUR GUÐMUNDSSON, BIRGIR ANDRÉSSON, IGNACIO URIARTE, RAGNA RÓBERTSDÓTTIR 6 Oct - 25 Nov 2016 i8 Gallery4 Parts Divided is an exhibition of four large-scale works, each of particular significance in the career of four different artists. The works are shown separately, each on view in...Read more -
Works on Paper
Birgir Andrésson, Hildigunnur Birgisdóttir, Hreinn Friðfinnsson, Ignacio Uriarte, Janice Kerbel, Karin Sander, Kristján Guðmunddsson, Lawrence Weiner, Ólafur Elíasson, Ragna Róbertsdóttir and more 5 Sep - 31 Oct 2013 i8 GalleryFeaturing 30 artists, Works on Paper uses the conventional subtitle as title to emphasize the exhibition’s shift in focus; from paper as merely media toward a wider interpretation for its...Read more -
BIRGIR ANDRÉSSON
The Infinite Day 20 Sep - 20 Oct 2012 i8 GalleryThe Infinite Day – a solo exhibition of works by Birgir Andrésson (1955–2007), features a selection of works from the artist´s estate, some of which have never been exhibited previously....Read more -
BIRGIR ANDRÉSSON
19 Apr - 10 May 2008 i8 GalleryBirgir Andésson (1955-2007) studied at the Icelandic College of Arts & Crafts and Jan van Eyck Akademie, Maastricht, Holland. During his lifetime Birgir actively exhibited around Scandinavia and Nothern Europe....Read more -
Summer Show
Ólafur Elíasson, Karin Sander, Roni Horn, Birgir Andrésson and more 20 Jul - 2 Sep 2006 i8 GalleryRead more -
BIRGIR ANDRÉSSON
19 Mar - 30 Apr 2004Read more -
BIRGIR ANDRÉSSON
29 Jan - 27 Feb 2000The Closets of the Icelandic Myth The best weapon against myth is probably to mythologize it and create a virtual myth: the new myth thus created will become a real...Read more
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Birgir Andrésson: FuturePast
Ísafjörður Art Museum and the National Gallery of Iceland 17 Jun - 19 Oct 2024The exhibition is held on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the foundation of the Republic of Iceland. Works have been selected from the collection of the National Gallery of Iceland, by artists who address such concepts as autonomy and national identity, and what it means to be a nation. Is the nation the same now as it was 80 years ago? Does it change, as a person changes over the course of their life?Read more -
Birgir Andrésson
For What It’s Worth: Value Systems in Art since 1960 2 Feb - 29 Jun 2024With this question, For What It’s Worth: Value Systems in Art since 1960 brings together 80 artists from across generations and geographies to explore one of the most urgent concerns of our time: the growing challenges to value systems that have arisen out of confrontations with social, political, and cultural power structures.Read more -
Birgir Andrésson: As Far as the Eye Can See
Kjarvalsstaðir - Reykjavik Art Museum, Iceland 29 Jan - 15 May 2022As Far as the Eye Can See is a major survey of works by Birgir Andrésson at the Reykjavík Art Museum. The exhibition, curated by...Read more -
BIRGIR ANDRÉSSON: The Infinite Day
Sequences, Reykjavik, Iceland 6 - 15 Oct 2017Birgir Andrésson's 'The Infinite Day' (2005) was presented as an outdoor mural at Grandi in Reykjavik as part of the Sequences Art Festival 2017. The...Read more
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Birgir Andrésson: MOVING. NORMAN FOSTER ON ART
Carré d'art - Musée dárt Contemporain de Nimes, Nimes, France 3 May - 15 Sep 2013To mark Carré d'Art’s 20th birthday, Norman Foster has been invited to curate an anniversary exhibition to open on May 2nd 2013. This is an...Read more -
BIRGIR ANDRÉSSON: THE YEAR IN ICELANDIC COLORS AND A FEW 90 MINUTES IN BLACK AND WHITE
Museum Abteiberg, Mönchengladbach, Germany 24 Apr - 31 Jul 2005The Museum Abteiberg presents Birgir Andrésson: THE YEAR IN ICELANDIC COLORS AND A FEW 90 MINUTES IN BLACK AND WHITE. This is the artist's first...Read more
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CHART 2024
Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, Denmark 29 Aug - 1 Sep 2024i8 Gallery's presentation at Chart 2024 features artworks by established artists associated with the gallery’s history. The exhibition showcases important works from each artist’s respective...Read more -
Art Basel Miami Beach 2023
Miami Beach Convention Center 6 - 10 Dec 2023i8 Gallery's presentation for Art Basel Miami Beach 2023 features artists who are key figures within the gallery's history from past to present.Read more -
Market 2022
Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden 29 Apr - 1 May 2022i8 Gallery returns to Stockholm for Market Art Fair 2022, presenting textile works, photography, prints, sculptures, and works on paper by four gallery artists: Birgir...Read more -
Frieze London 2020
8 - 11 Oct 2020Read more
b. 1955, d. 2007
Born in the Westman Islands, Iceland
Lived and worked in Reykjavik
EDUCATION
1978-79 Jan van Eyck Akademie, Maastricht, The Netherlands
1973-77 Icelandic College of Arts & Crafts, Reykjavik, Iceland
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022
As Far as the Eye Can See, Reykjavík Art Museum, Reykjavík
2016
4 Parts Divided, i8 Gallery, Reykjavík
2014
The Northernmost North, Edinburgh Art Festival, Edinburgh
Tölt, The Nordic House, Reykjavík
2013
Tölt, Nordic Embassy, Berlin
Tölt, Kulturhaus Karlshorst, Berlin
2012
The Infinite Day, i8 Gallery, Reykjavik
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024
Looking Inward, Looking Outward: 140 years of the National Gallery of Iceland, National Gallery of Iceland
FuturePast, Ísafjörður Art Museum, Ísafjörður
For What It's Worth: Value Systems in Art since 1960, The Warehouse, Dallas
2023
Free Verse, Skaftfell Art Center, Seyðisfjörður
Kaleidoscope: Icelandic 21st Century Art, Reykjavik Art Museum, Reykjavík
Birgir Andrésson & Lawrence Weiner, i8 Gallery, Reykjavík
2022
STARS DON'T STAND STILL IN THE SKY: A Tribute to Lawrence Weiner, Regen Projects, Los Angeles
Sea Lava Circle: Works from the Pétur Arason and Ragna Róbertsdóttir Collection, i8 Gallery, Reykjavik
2021
Birgir Andrésson, B. Ingrid Olson, Ragna Róbertsdóttir, i8 Gallery at No.9 Cork Street, London
2019
Wunderkammer, Nils Stærk, Copenhagen
2018
High & Low - Icelandic Contemporary Art, at Nordatlantens Brygge, Copenhagen
2017
Sequences Art Festival, Reykjavik
List Officinalis, Nesstofa, Seltjarnarnes
Other Hats: Icelandic Printmaking, The International Print Centre, New York; National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik
2016
TEXT, the National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik
KINGDOM - Flora, Faun, Fable, Reykjavik Art Museum, Reykjavik
2014
Iceland: Artists Respond to Place, Scandinavia House, New York
Iceland: Artists Respond to Place, Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah
2013
Works on Paper, i8 Gallery, Reykjavik
The Unpredictables, Norman Foster et l'art contemporain, Carré d'art - Musée dárt Contemporain de Nimes, Nimes
Elemental, Boden Arts Center, Boden
Magnetic North, Ratio 3, San Francisco
2012
Air de Pied-à-terre, Lisa Cooley Gallery, New York
Dissecting Nature, Quint Contemporary Art, La Jolla