Steinunn Thorarinsdottir

In continuing my research with the figure and its place within the contemporary art world I stumbled upon Steinunn Thorarinsdottir’s work while browsing artists involved with ISC. It is quite hard to obtain sources for Steinunn Thorarinsdottir, whom lives and works in Reykjavik, Iceland, although has been working professionally for 30 years and has exhibited widely in Europe, Japan, USA and Australia. The aesthetic of Thorarinsdottir’s work is astonishing to me and holds a close similarity to the work of Antony Gormley. A connection is made and discussed by Jonathan Goodman about the two artists works; whom are laid out as an example of two figurative artists that have a desire to portray reality realistically – as opposed to abstractly or conceptually, yet are amongst the strongest of our contemporary sculptors.

With Antony Gormley we have his concerns with spirituality and the human form. The consequences of his work are immensely exciting, because they imply that new art can continue to hold representation as a means and measure of the imaginative impulse. Goodman explains that the work offers the pleasures of recognition-of ourselves and of the history we have created.

Thorarinsdottir however rejects any notion of the figure as a purely historicist vehicle…Instead her figures denote the lyric isolation that all of us bear in both art and life. What better way is there than figurative realism to express the innate awkwardness of people, their preference for folly and self-deception? At the same time, however by asserting the essential dignity of the human form, Throarinsdottir conveys a deep concern for human nature, no matter how troubled its energies may be in contemporary life.

Although these themes are not completely related to the thoughts I have about the human and its quest toward the post-human, I am concerned about what relationships can be conveyed to the viewer through a contemporary figurative approach with the integration of some of the tools and technology that these artists would most-likely choose to not be included in their repertoire.

As important to Steinunn’s work as the objects themselves, are the spaces that they occupy. This too is a concern of mine. I have always created an object and placed it on a pedestal or on the floor or on the wall, using the all-powerful “white cube” to do its magic and give some sort of important presence to the piece. I’m giving more and more thought to this and how I cannot rely on these parameters but set up my own to both invite the viewer and help convey the concept of the work. I am very moved by Laura Peturson’s words in the catalog of Steinunn’s work entitled Inner Light, within the introduction she writes: Thorarinsdottir’s sculptures invite us to walk amongst them, as both active participants and reflective observers. Their quiet mysticism has the power to move us, while their raw physicality has the ability to inspire awe.

"About the Artist." Web. 11 Apr. 2011. .

Goodman, Jonathan. "A Lyric Isolation." Sculpture Jan.-Feb. 2009: 49-53. Web.

Steinunn, Þórarinsdóttir, Odon Wagner, Laura Peturson, and Rafael Wagner. Steinunn Thórarinsdottir: Inner Light. Toronto: Odon Wagner Gallery, 2006. Print.