Biography

Halla Gunnarsdóttir was born in Reykjavík, Iceland 1974. She studied at the Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy between 1994-1996, studying for one semester at the Surikov Academy in Moscow in 1995. She completed her B.A from The New School in New York in 1999 and an M.F.A in figurative sculpture from The New York Academy of Art in 2003. Upon graduation she was awarded the NYAA sculpture fellowship. She also holds an MBA from The Sorbonne in Paris.

Halla´s work is rooted in figurative art. Working with the human body her work has touched on subjects such as autism, the sub-consciousness of sleep and hybridity. Her recent work is about the relationship between humans and animals, endangered species and conservation. The work has been greatly influenced by her travels to Antarctica, the Arctic, India and South East Asia and learning about human and environmental impact on animals. In Asia Halla has also spent time working with organizations on street animal rescue and welfare. The work inspired by these experiences accumulated in two solo exhibitions Look at Us and Seeing Alba at Listastofan, an independent artist space in Reykjavík. In 2006 Halla exhibited her installation Sleepers at the Akureyri Art Museum in Iceland in conjuction with Spencer Tunick’s exhibition Body Public. In 2007 was part of a multidisciplinary art project during the Reykjavik Art Festival called The Godess in the Engine Room. The two - month project took place in a coast guard vessel in the harbor of Reykjavik. The vessel, being the home of men, was turned into an exhibition space for the history of women. Halla’s sculptures formed an installation in the engine room. In 2009 Halla won a public competition for the sculpture of Icelandic poet Tómas Guðmundsson. The sculpture is situated in the center of Reykjavík.

In 2021 she finished an over life-size public commission of entrepreneur Egill Thorarensen, which was unveiled this year in Iceland. In 2008 Halla participated in a residency in Amman, Jordan, which brought together artists from the Middle East focusing on refugee artists. In 2014 Halla resided in Stockholm, Sweden for a year, with a studio in Work in Progress:Stockholm, the largest art studio complex in Sweden. In 2015 she travelled to the Arctic with a team of scientists, wildlife photographers and artists led by oceanographer dr. Sylvia Earle to document the effects of climate change.

Halla has also worked as an art director/production designer and received several nominations for the Icelandic Theater Awards for her set and costume design. In 2011 she won the award for the design in the rock opera “Shockheaded Peter. Through the years Halla has worked on numerous private commissions both in sculpture and painting. Currently Halla is working on a new body of work of painted and sculpted portraits and imaginary narrative landscapes. Halla lives and works in London.