MALFRIDUR ADALSTEINSDOTTIR
Stemning / Atmosphere

26 September - 3 November 2024

Málfríður Aðalsteinsdóttir is deeply connected to nature, from the smallest details to the grand, majestic, and beautiful. Using traditional handicrafts, she embroiders drawings that she hopes will evoke reflections in the viewer.

Aðalsteinsdóttir has moved out of Oslo and settled by the fjord, surrounded by the forest. The forest has become important to her, both as a source for inspiration, but also as a source of materials for plant-based dyeing. She roams the forest, mountains, and sea, observing changes in nature. The Icelandic landscape she originates from consists of green valleys, barren and rugged mountain terrain, wide expanses, glaciers, and black sand. Now, she feels that the forest is her element. The boundary between civilization and nature is changing rapidly, and untouched natural areas are shrinking. Human activity requires space and is altering the environment and the living conditions for an increasing number of species. The mighty and beautiful glaciers, which are sources of fresh water for the planet, are shrinking. Wetlands are being drained and excavated, ancient forests are disappearing, and clear-cutting is destroying biodiversity.

Aðalsteinsdóttir combines wool and horsehair in her embroidered drawings. She uses both the natural colors of different sheep breeds and plant-dyed wool, which is then carded before the desired thread is spun. This is how her drawings take shape. Older craft traditions that involve a close connection between the hand and the material, respect for natural resources, and the time-consuming aspect of handmade work are fundamental to her practice. The materials she uses are locally sourced, biodegradable, and can return to nature. In her exhibitions, an atmosphere of nature is created, where both the motifs and materials are derived from the forest.

Málfríður Aðalsteinsdóttir (born 1960, Iceland) lives and works in Norway. She is a graduate of SHKS (Oslo National College of Art and Design) in Oslo. She has held several solo exhibitions both in Norway and abroad, and has participated in numerous group exhibitions in Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, Germany, Poland, Belgium, Greece, and the Baltic countries. Her work has been acquired by Nordenfjeldske, the Oslo Municipal Art Collections, the Icelandic Design Museum, and various private collections.

Aðalsteinsdóttir was the initiator and curator of  iVesturveg, a collaborative project between artists and museums in Shetland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway, and Denmark. The exhibition was shown at KODA, the Nordic House in Iceland and the Faroe Islands, Shetland Museum, and the North Atlantic House in Copenhagen. In 2022, she was the exhibition manager for the Norwegian exhibition at CONTEXTILE 2022 | International Contemporary Textile Art Biennial in Portugal. This was a collaboration between the Norwegian textile artists and the biennial, curated together with Cláudia Melo, the curator of Contextile 2022.

Photo: Øystein Thorvaldsen