Libia Castro (born 1970,

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

) and Ólafur Ólafsson (born 1973,

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 ...

) are collaborative artists based in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Career

Formed in 1997, their artistic practice has grown to encompass a variety of media, genres, and disciplines, from

political history Political history is the narrative and survey of political events, ideas, movements, organs of government, voters, parties and leaders. It is closely related to other fields of history, including diplomatic history, constitutional history, soci ...

gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field n ...

and sociology. Castro and Ólafsson have exhibited their works at various international venues, including TENT Rotterdam,

Liverpool Biennial Liverpool Biennial is the largest international contemporary art festival in the United Kingdom. Since its launch in 1998, Liverpool Biennial has commissioned over 380 new artworks and presented work by over 530 artists from around the world. ...

, the 19th

Sydney Biennale The Biennale of Sydney is an international festival of contemporary art, held every two years in Sydney, Australia. It is a large and well-attended contemporary visual arts event in the country. Alongside the Venice Biennale, Venice and São Pa ...

, the

Centre for Contemporary Arts The Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) is an arts centre in Glasgow, Scotland. It is substantially subsidised by Creative Scotland and operates from the former Third Eye Centre in a building purchased in the 1970s by the Scottish Arts Council. ...

, Glasgow, and the 54th

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

Solo exhibitions

2014 * Your Country Does Not Exist,

Trondheim Kunstmuseum The Trondheim Art Museum (, previously ''Trøndelag Kunstgalleri'') is an art museum located in Trondheim in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The museum shows temporary exhibitions of international and regional art in dialogue with works from the ...

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

, Norway 2013 * Asymmetry, Tent, Rotterdam, Netherlands 2012 * Under Deconstruction, The National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland * Two Ongoing Projects, Galerie Opdahl, Berlin, Germany 2011 * Tu País no Existe, curated by Juan Antonio Alvarez, Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo,

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, Spain * Under Deconstruction, curated by Ellen Bluemenstein, Icelandic Pavillon, 54 Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy * Constitution of Republic of Iceland, curated by Hanna Styrmisdottir,

Hafnarborg Hafnarborg, The Hafnarfjördur Centre of Culture and Fine Art, is a public art museum located in Hafnarfjörður, Iceland. It was opened in May 1988 but the foundation for the institution was laid in 1983 when Dr. Sverrir Magnússon and his wi ...

Art Center,

Hafnarfjörður Hafnarfjörður, officially Hafnarfjarðarkaupstaður, is a port town and municipality in Iceland, located about south of Reykjavík. The municipality consists of two non-contiguous areas in the Capital Region (Iceland), Capital Region, on the s ...

, Iceland 2010 * Lobbyists, curated by Birta Guðjónsdóttir, The Living Art Museum, Reykjavík, Iceland 2009 * Caregivers, curated by Inga Þórey, Suðsuðvestur, Iceland * Libia Castro & Ólafur Ólafsson, curated by Riccardo Crespi, text by Gabi Scardi, Galleria Riccardo Crespi,

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy * Libia Castro & Ólafur Ólafsson, Galerie Opdahl, Berlin, Germany 2008 * Libia Castro & Ólafur Ólafsson, Galeria Adhoc,

Vigo Vigo (, ; ) is a city and Municipalities in Spain, municipality in the province of province of Pontevedra, Pontevedra, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest ...

, Spain * Recent Works, curated by Valeria Schulte-Fischedick, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany * Everybody Is Doing What They Can, curated by Hafpor Yngvason,

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 ...

, Reykajavík, Iceland 2007 * Libia Castro & Ólafur Ólafsson, curated by Julieta Manzano, CAC Málaga,

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

, Spain 2006 * Demolitions and Excavations, Galerie Martin Van Zomeren,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, Nethlerlands 2005 * Bone-lady and The Happy Campaign, curated by Theo Tegelaers, Ministry of Work and Social Affairs,

The Hague, Netherlands The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

* Dubble Ruimte, RAM Foundation, Rotterdam, Netherlands * Dyn Lan Bestiet Net, Deiska The Collection, Amsterdam, Netherlands * Dyn Lan Bestiet Net, Kunsthuis Syb,

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

, Netherlands * Chapter 3: The Noise of Money, Museum ASÍ, Reykjavík, Iceland 2004 * Wir Wünschen Ihnen Einen Angenehmen Aufenthalt, curated by Theo Tegelaers, De Appel CAC, Amsterdam, Netherlands * Mind Your Step, Step Your Mind, curated by T. Maars, Galerie Akademie Minerva,

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

, Netherlands 2003 * 20 Minus Minutes, curated by Vasif Kortun,

Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center The contemporary art institution Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center opened in 2001 and was located on the pedestrian Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul, Turkey. Platform Garanti organized exhibitions; conferences and events; hosted an internationa ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, Turkey * Camurdili Araniyor! Camurdili Araniyor! / Searching for a Clay Language! Searching for a Clay Language!, Oda Projesi, Istanbul, Turkey 2002 * Un Elemento Más, curated by Natalia Bravo, Alternativa Siglo 21, Málaga, Spain * Mjög Skemmtileg Sýning, curated by Þóra Þóristdóttir, Gallerí Hlemmur, Reykjavík, Iceland * Een Plassende Vrouw, curated by Marc Bijl, Central Train Station, Rotterdam, Netherlands 2001 * Etnoskitzco, curated by Arno von Roosmalen, TENT Art centre, Rotterdam, Netherlands 2000 * The Last Minute Show, Straumur Artist Residence, Hafnarfjörður, Iceland * Shop Window at

Laugavegur Laugavegur () is a hiking trail in South Iceland. It is the most popular trail in Iceland, with an estimated 75,000-100,000 people hiking it every year. In 2012, National Geographic listed it as one of the twenty best trails in the world. Lau ...

, Gallerí Sævar Karl, Reykjavík, Iceland * Baggage + 8 Days / An Excavation, TOKO, Groningen, Netherlands * 7 Performances, Dans Werkplaats Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands 1999 * De Voormalige HBS, De Voormalige HBS, Groningen, Netherlands 1998 * Finding Each Other, Galerie Sign, Groningen, Netherlands

Awards

2009 * Prix de Rome,

Rijksakademie The Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten (State Academy of Fine Arts) was founded in 1870 in Amsterdam. It is a classical academy, a place where philosophers, academics and artists meet to test and exchange ideas and knowledge. The school supports ...

, Amsterdam, Netherlands * Il Ventre di Napoli Project, BKVB Fonds, Amsterdam, Netherlands 2007 * (shortlist), Prix Gilles Dusein, Paris, France 2006 * (shortlist), Menningarverðlaun DV, Iceland

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Libia and Olafur Olafsson Art duos