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Opening Reception: March 3rd
6pm – 8pm
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,
and is currently on view at The Knoxville Museum of Art in Tennessee through
February 15, 2013.
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. For more information or to request visuals or press
materials, please contact:
Bay Bird Inc PR
Natalie Sellers
T – 917-657-1264
E – natalie@baybirdinc.com
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