Biography of Hreinn Fridfinnsson
Hreinn Fridfinnsson is one of Iceland's most prominent conceptual artists working today. Using everyday materials and familiar subject matter, the work of Fridfinnsson is renowned for its lyricism, but paradoxically for its starkness too.
Born in Baer Dölum, Iceland in 1943, Hreinn Fridfinnsson has primarily been based in Amsterdam since 1971. Often drawing inspiration from found objects that he prefers to interfere with as little as possible, Fridfinnsson explores ideas about the self and time. In 1965 Fridfinnsson came to prominence as a member of Iceland's avant-garde after started the group SUM with fellow artists in Reykjavik. Fridfinnsson is enormously versatile and is at home with photography, sound, texts, presentations, and ready-mades.
Hreinn Fridfinnsson has had solo exhibitions at the Kunstverein in Amsterdam in 2015, Reykjavik Art Museum in 2007, Centre d'Art Contemporain, Bignan, and Kyoto Art Center, both in 2002. He also represented Iceland at the 45th Venice Biennale and was awarded the Ars Fennica Prize in 2000. Fridfinnsson featured in numerous prestigious group shows including at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. In 2007 Fridfinnsson collaborated with Olafur Eliasson to design the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion.
