Steinnun Thorarinsdottir Sculpture

STEINUNN THORARINSDOTTIR

March 3 - April 14
Opening Reception: March 3rd
6pm - 8pm

"ENCOUNTER" SCULPTURES BY
STEINUNN THORARINSDOTTIR
EXHIBITION SUMMARY:

Steinunn Thórarinsdóttir is an Icelandic-born and internationally recognized sculptor who is celebrated for her use of cast iron, steel, aluminum and glass to create life-size figurative works. These anonymous-looking figures are often installed to feel as if they are part of the landscape where they are placed. Although figurative, her forms have a deliberate lack of definition that is emphasized by her choice of materials and the sand casting method she employs.

The title of Thórarinsdóttir's upcoming show at Scott White Contemporary Art, "Encounter," is also the title of the cornerstone sculpture featured in the show. "Encounter" is a colossal cast iron, aluminum, and basalt sculpture, and it will serve as the focal point in the gallery, setting the tone for the exhibition -radically altering its immediate surroundings with its unforgettable scale and presence. Inspired by a stark chilly Iceland landscape, her work seems to glow with a strange and foreign substance that pushes the viewer to share in a narrative that can often be unfamiliar and challenging.

Her work is provocative and engaging, inviting viewers to partake in a silent conversation with the figures, drawing forth a response that is unlike the reaction generated by two-dimensional works. The gallery will feature a variety of Steinnunn's pieces including wall-mounted and tabletop sculptures, as well as free standing figures. This is Steinunn's first solo exhibition in California, and Scott White Contemporary Art is the only gallery to represent Steinunn in the Western US.

About the Artist

Steinunn Thórarinsdóttir (b.1955) studied at the University of Portsmouth Fine Art Department in England and the Accademia di Belle Arte in Bologna, Italy. She has been working professionally for over 30 years and has exhibited widely in Europe, Japan, the United States, and Australia. Her works are in private, public, and corporate collections around the world.

She has completed commissions at Leifur Eiríksson International Airport, Iceland, and the two-part memorial Voyage in Hull, England, and Vik, Iceland among others. Thórarinsdóttir recently finished a 9 meter high sculpture for the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. Her exhibition Horizons, which was first exhibited in early 2007 at the Katonah Museum, New York has since traveled to six venues. Among them are the Dixon Museum and Gardens, Memphis, Tennessee; and Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park, Illinois. On January 31, 2011, Horizons inaugurated the new sculpture garden of the Georgia Museum of Art where it will be on view through June 30, 2012.

Scott White Contemporary Art recently worked with The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation to curate the exhibition BORDERS by Steinunn Thórarinsdóttir in Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza. The installation featured twenty-six androgynous, life-size sculptures, thirteen aluminum and thirteen cast iron. BORDERS was the park's largest exhibition to date and the first exhibition to incorporate the entire park.

Thórarinsdóttir lives and works in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Scott White Contemporary Art is located at 7655 Girard Avenue in La Jolla, CA. It is open: Tues - Fri, 9:00 to 5:00 p.m. Sat, 11:00 - 5:00 p.m. The phone number is: 858-255-8574.