Hallsteinn Sigurðsson (born 1945) is an

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic sculptor and visual artist. He is noted for his Nordic god sculptures, some of which are located at the Laxá Power Station in the north central part of the country and are arranged in the facility’s tunnels and vaults. Some twenty five of his sculptures are exhibited in the Gufunes sculpture park in north-east

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

Biography

Hallsteinn Sigurðsson was born in 1945 and studied at the School of Arts and Crafts in Iceland from 1963 to 1966, then went to the United Kingdom, where he studied sculpture at the

Hornsey College of Art Hornsey College of Art, also known as HCA, founded in 1880 as the Hornsey School of Arts, was an art school in Crouch End, part of Hornsey, Middlesex, England. From 1965 it was in the London Borough of Haringey. From 1955 to 1973, when it was me ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

(1966–1967), Hammersmith College of Art, London (1967–1969) and the St. Martin’s School of Art, London (1969–1972). In London he was influenced by the work of

Anthony Caro Sir Anthony Alfred Caro (8 March 192423 October 2013) was an English abstract sculptor whose work is characterised by assemblages of metal using ' found' and industrial objects. He began as a member of the modernist school, having worked with ...

and other "New Generation" sculptors. After completing his studies in London, he made study trips to Italy, Greece and the United States. Hallsteinn held more than a dozen solo exhibitions in the years 1971 to 1997, and has been hired to create monuments for various organizations and municipalities in Iceland. Early in his career, Hallsteinn created sculpture cast from concrete and various plastics. In his more recent works, Hallsteinn most often uses

aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

and

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which in most cases at least one is a metal, metallic element, although it is also sometimes used for mixtures of elements; herein only metallic alloys are described. Metallic alloys often have prop ...

, generally in abstract and geometric forms. Over time his structures have become lighter in form. Dozens of his works are in public ownership, and his works are represented in the collections of museums including the Borgarness Museum,

Icelandic National Gallery The National Gallery of Iceland ( ) is an art museum in Reykjavík which contains a collection of Icelandic art. The gallery features artwork of famous Icelandic artists and artwork that helps explain the traditional Icelandic culture. History ...

and

Reykjavík Art Museum Reykjavik Art Museum ( ; founded in 1973) is the largest visual art institution in Iceland. It occupies three locations in Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Icela ...

, where he resides. Some twenty-five of his sculptures are exhibited in the Gufunes sculpture park in northeast Reykjavík. Hallsteinn is a member of the Icelandic Sculptors Society, which he established in the Icelandic capital in 1972 along with Jon Gunnar Árnason, Ragnar Kjartansson,

Þorbjörg Pálsdóttir Þorbjörg Guðrún Pálsdóttir (10 February 1919, Reykjavík – 11 November 2009, Reykjavík) was an Icelandic sculptor. She is perhaps best known for her four green alien-like public statues ''Dansleikur/Dance'' in Reykjavík, which she comp ...

and others. He is also a member of the

Icelandic Association of Visual Artists Icelandic refers to anything of, from, or related to Iceland and may refer to: *Icelandic people *Icelandic language *Icelandic orthography *Icelandic cuisine See also * Icelander (disambiguation) * Icelandic Airlines, a predecessor of Icelandai ...

. In 2002 a set of his sculptures based on

Nordic mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

was installed in the tunnels and vaults of the Laxárvirkjun hydroelectric power station in north-central Iceland, where the works can be seen by visitors each summer. In 2006 he exhibited at the Sigurjón Ólafsson Museum with a collection named "Wheel-Plow-Wings".

Notable works

*Ál-eggið -1968 *Maður og kona I – 1968 *Ferningar I −1973 *Steinbarn II – 1974 *Hyrningar VIII −1975 *Veðrahöll IV – 1978 *Harpa −1987 *Svif XXIII – 1987 *Fönsun IX – 1988 *Far I – 1991 *Far II – 1991 *Keilur V – 1991 *Skeljar I −1994 *Skeljar III −1994 *Skeljar V −1994 *Skeljar VII −1994 *Fönsun XII – 1994 *Pýramídar II −1994 *Píramídar III −1996 *Skeljar XII −1996 *Veðrahöll IX – 2002 *Fönsun XVI – 2004 *Vængir I – 2005

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sigurdsson, Hallsteinn 1945 births Living people Hallsteinn Sigurdsson