Sigurður Guðjónsson

Perpetual MOTION
59th Venice Biennale

The Wealth and Elegance of Physical Matter – Iceland’s contribution to the 59th Venice Biennale

Sigurður Guðjónsson (b. Reykjavík, 1975; lives and works in Reykjavík) creates powerful videos in which image, sound, and space coalesce in an organic whole. He launched his career as an artist in the early 2000s in Reykjavík’s vibrant experimental arts scene, which nurtured new work in temporary venues throughout the old town, by exhibiting dark and atmospheric videos whose hypnotic allure quickly caught critics’ attention. Harnessing the potential of time-based media, Guðjónsson creates works whose rhythms enfold the viewer in a synesthetic experience, fusing the senses of sight and hearing in a way that seems to expand their field of perception and inducing yet unfelt sensations. Many of his works examine man-made constructions, machines, and the infrastructure of technical relics in conjunction with natural elements, arranged in complex loops and intricate rhythmical patterns.

On occasion of Guðjónsson’s contribution to the 59th Venice Biennale, the accompanying catalogue presents a cross-section of his growing oeuvre. With an essay by Mónica Bello.