Steinunn

With timeless design and discerning professional sense, Steinunn Sigurðardóttir has established her place as a world-class designer. Her artistic creation builds on years of collaboration with many renowned contemporary designers and a rare knowledge of material texture and three-dimensional shaping. Rooted in the folk traditions of the art of knitting, Steinunn Sigurðardóttir has shaped her own world of subtle nuance, reminiscent of the hardy but delicate flora of Iceland. Steinunn’s design interlaces folk heritage with mystic lava-field shadows, foaming cascades, soft moss, soft soil, and roiling magma – wellsprings urging Icelandic artists to deeds of art, music, poetry, writing, film, and photography since time out of mind. Steinunn’s reputation transcends borders, as is evidenced by her many awards and honors, most recently the esteemed Söderberg Prize, the first to be awarded to a clothing designer, celebrated in style with a show in Göteborg, Sweden.

This exhibition offers a look at designer editions of unique garments not previously displayed in Iceland, along with photographs by Mary Ellen Mark. Steinunn Sigurðardóttir is Reykjavík’s artist laureate, the first designer to receive the title. The exhibition is sponsored in part by Icelandair.

Stylist: Kristín Björgvinsdóttir. Exhibition design by Páll Hjaltason. Curated by Soffía Karlsdóttir.

Curatorial text