Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson | Paintings

On view March 30 – April 12 , 2015

EBK Gallery [small works].
218 Pearl St.
Hartford, CT

 

As I look at Hildur’s pieces and remember a trip to Iceland, I slowly begin to understand how sublime they are. I see a landscape whose haunting light grants geology its poetry, and the vexing perception of distance that gives it’s geography a silent mystery. – E.B.K

 

For over fifteen years, Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson (b. 1963) has merged painting and weaving, creating paintings on hand-dyed, woven silk thread. Hildur’s paintings begin from images of the singular landscape of Iceland; addressing numerous Icelandic landmarks, she has created series devoted to Vatnajökull, Iceland’s largest glacier, and Hekla, a stratovolcano that is one of the country’s most active.

Twice a year Hildur returns to Iceland, taking photographs as she hikes through the landscape. Details of the photographs, from mountainous silhouettes to glacial crevasses, become isolated, cropped, and enlarged as Hildur transfers the imagery to woven paintings in her Cleveland studio. This complex process includes hand-dyeing the threads before weaving together the warp and weft. In the process, Hildur’s original sources are abstracted, as the paintings suggest a range of imagery from nonrepresentational lines and shapes to elemental forms, such as cells, rocks, and galaxies.

 

click on an image to enlarge or forward through

 

Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson has received numerous grants, commissions and awards, including the prestigious Cleveland Arts Prize in 2008, Ohio Arts Council Grants, and a public commission from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. In 2004 Hildur was awarded an Individual Artist’s Fellowship by the Ohio Arts Council and the same year was commissioned to create works of art to be presented in that year’s Governor’s Awards in the Arts. Her previous exhibitions include The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum, The Reykjavik Art Museum, The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, William Busta Gallery, Cleveland, and numerous galleries and museums in Iceland. Her work resides in a number of collections, including The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Reykjavík Museum of Art, The Progressive Insurance Collection, and Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

Born in Reykjavík, Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson has lived in Cleveland, Ohio for thirty years. From 1983 through 1985, Jónsson studied architecture at Kent State University before switching her focus to studio art and studying at the Cleveland Institute of Art. Later, she returned to Kent State, where she received her BFA in 1991 and MFA in 1995.

 

Gallery Sheet and Pricing PDF

 

Press and Publications of Note:

Review by Sharon Butler’s Two Coats of Paint blog for the Pocket Utopia exhibit, (click here) 

A review from the White Elephant on Wheels blog by Elliot Markell, (click here)

Angle Arts & Culture Journal, (click here)

Review by Douglas Max Utter (click here)

Watch a video of the artist on Vimeo (click here)

 

Recent Exhibits of Note:

Pretty Raw: After and Around Helen Frankenthlaler | The Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, (Click here)

The Reykjavík Art Museum, Reykjavik– Kjarvalsstaðir, Iceland (Click here)

The Francis Young Tang Teaching Museum & Art Gallery, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY (Click here)

21st Projects | NYC  (Click here)

To be a Lady | Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Singapore, Malaysia (Click here)

 

CV / Resume

Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson

BIOGRAPHY:
1963 Born in Reykjavík, Iceland
1995 MFA – Kent State University, USA
1991 BFA – Kent State University, USA
1985-88 Cleveland Institute of Art, USA
1983-85 Architecture Program – Kent State University, USA
1979-83 Reykjavík Junior College, Iceland

WORKS AVAILABLE:
EBK Gallery, Hartford, CT
Pierogi, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
William Busta Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
SOLO:
2015
EBK Gallery, Hartford, Connecticut
2014
The Reykjavík Art Museum, Reykjavik– Kjarvalsstaðir, Iceland
William Busta Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
2013
The Francis Young Tang Teaching Museum & Art Gallery, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York
Pocket Utopia, New York, New York
Thomas Robertello, Chicago, Illinois
21st Street Projects, New York, New York
2012
William Busta Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
2009
Akureyri Arts Festival, Akureyri, Iceland
More North Gallery, New York, New York
William Busta Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
2008
Turpentine Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland
2007
William Busta Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
Dali Gallery, Akureyri, Iceland
2006
Scope New York, Turpentine Gallery, New York
2005
Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, Ohio
Latse, New York, New York
Turpentine Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland
2004
Heights Arts, Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Cleveland Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio
2003
superior (an exhibition space), Cleveland, Ohio
2002
Gallerí Sævars Karls, Reykjavík, Iceland
1997
William Busta Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
1995
FAVA Gallery, Oberlin, Ohio
1994
Cleveland Independent Art Cleveland, Ohio

GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2015 Pretty Raw: After and Around Helen Frankenthlaler, The Rose Art Museum, curated by Katy Siegel, Brandeis University,
Waltham, Massachusetts
The Year of the Ram: Works by 22 Artists, Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
Women to Watch – Ohio, Reinberger Galleries, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
2014 25 Artists/25 Years, William Busta Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
2013 To be a Lady, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, curated by Jason Andrew, Singapore, Malaysia
Unhinged, Pierogi, Brooklyn, New York
Summer Painting Show, William Busta Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
2012 Lyrical Color, Pocket Utopia, New York, New York
2010 In Honor of Cleveland Arts Prize, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
New Acquisitions, 2006-2010, Reykjavik Art Museum, Kjarvalsstaðir, Reykjavik, Iceland
2009 Kris Graves Projects, New York, New York
Cleveland Arts Prize Winners Collaborative, Cleveland, Ohio
2008 Summer Painting Show, William Busta Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
2007 Pocket Utopia, Brooklyn, New York
2005 Aqua Art Miami, Shaheen Modern and Contemporary Art, Miami, Florida
NEO, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
Turpentine Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland

2004 Contemporary Art Exhibition, Ormeau Baths Gallery, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Rhyme, Reason, Repeat, Kent State University Art Gallery, Kent, Ohio
Connections, Gallery 138, Kent, Ohio
2003 Preliminary Inventories, Zygote Press, Cleveland, Ohio
2002 Circles, Cycles and Structures, KSU Gallery, Kent, Ohio
Cambridge Art Association National Show, Cambridge, Massachusetts

2001 Circles, Cycles and Structures, Fava Gallery, Oberlin, Ohio
2000 Mini-Textile International Contemporary Art Exhibition, Barcelona, Spain
Fabricating Memory, William Busta Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
Uncommon Threads, Museum in the Community, Hurricane, West Virginia
Icelandic Arts Festival, Cleveland Heights, Ohio
1999 Contained Spaces, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
Coming Into View, The Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, Ohio
1998 1st Mini-Textile International Contemporary Art Exhibition, Barcelona, Spain
Body Image, Fulton Street Gallery, Troy, New York
Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
St. Johns University 4th Annual National Art Exhibition, New York, N.Y.
Women in the Visual Arts, Erector Square Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut
1997 The Museum of Textile, Ecomuseum of the Region Fourmies-Trelon, France
Hotel des Archeveques de Sens in Paris, Art Library of the City of Paris, France
Perspectives, Massillon Museum, Ohio
Wayne Art Center Craft Forms, Wayne, Pennsylvania
Kent State University Alumni Exhibition, KSU Museum, Kent, Ohio
1996 The 1st Linen Biennale, Fiber Art Synergy, Linen Museum, Rouen, France
William Busta Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
1995 Drawing in Ohio at the Turn of the Century, School of Art Akron University, Akron, Ohio
1994 The 4th International Textile Competition, Kyoto, Japan
Works on Paper, John J. McDonough Museum of Art, Youngstown, Ohio

PROFESSIONAL:
2010 Studio visit – Nasnadny + Schwartz Visiting Critics Program – Franklin Sirmans
Studio visit – Nasnadny + Schwartz Visiting Critics Program – Ian Berry
2009 Studio visit – Nasnadny + Schwartz Visiting Critics Program – Laura Hoptman
Studio visit – Nasnadny + Schwartz Visiting Critics Program – Douglas Dreischspoon
2008 Studio visit – Nasnadny + Schwartz Visiting Critics Program – Gregory Volk
2006 Studio visit – Nasnadny + Schwartz Visiting Critics Program – Katy Siegel
2005 The Drawing Center Viewing Program and Slide Registry, New York, New York
Studio visit – Nasnadny + Schwartz Visiting Critics Program – Amada Cruz
Studio visit – Nasnadny + Schwartz Visiting Critics Program – Domonic Molon
2003 Jury committee – Wendy L. Moore exhibition series – MOCA Cleveland
2000 Guest Artist – Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
1999 Guest Artist – Lake Erie College, Painesville, Ohio
1995-99 Trustee – Spaces Gallery, Cleveland
1994-99 Jury committee, Space Lab Project, Spaces Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
1998 Guest Artist – Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
1997 Co-curator, Despite the Odds, Spaces, Cleveland, Ohio
1995-97 Instructor of Textile Arts, Kent State University
1992-95 Graduate teaching assistant, Kent State University
1993 Guest Artist – Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, Ohio

SELECTED COLLECTIONS:
Agnes Gund, New York, New York
Akron Art Museum, Akron, Ohio
Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
Dealer Tire, Cleveland, Ohio
Hahn Loeser + Parks, Cleveland, Ohio
Hahn Loeser + Parks, Akron, Ohio
Landau Public Relations, Cleveland, Ohio
Toby Lewis, New York, New York
Scott Mueller, Cleveland, Ohio
National City Bank, Cleveland, Ohio
Progressive Insurance, Cleveland, Ohio
Reykjavik Art Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland
Andrea Soros, New York, New York
Ohio Arts Council, Columbus, Ohio
University Hospitals, Cleveland, Ohio
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas

GRANTS, AWARDS &: Cleveland Clinic Glickman Chapel 2009
COMMISSONS:
Cleveland Arts Prize 2008
Dealer Tire Commission 2010-2011
Ohio Arts Council, Artists Project Grant 2005
Ohio Arts Council, Individual Artist Fellowship 2004
Ohio Arts Council, Governors Award 2004
Ohio Arts Council, International Grant 2002

PUBLICATIONS:
Ian Berry and Gregory Volk, Opener 25 Exhibition Catalogue, The Francis Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery and
Reykjavík Art Museum – Kjarvalsstaðir 2014.
Peter Hill, “To Be a Lady” Sundaram Tagore – Singapore, ARTnews, February 2014.
Sharon Butler, “Survey: Bleaching, staining and dyeing” Two Coats of Paint, Janaury 22, 2014.
Whitney Crutchfield, Woven Landscapres: The Art of Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson, Textile Arts Center, July 2014.
Sharon Butler, Process, time, memory: Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson, Two Coats of Paint, December 10, 2013.
Amy Griffin, On exhibit: The work of Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson at the Tang, timesunion.com, December 04, 2013
Ingrid Fetell, Hum and Flutter, Aesthetics of Joy, October 27, 2013
Wayne Arnason, “Evoking Iceland: The Art of Hildur Asgeirsdóttir Jónsson”, Logberg Heimskringla, 1 April 2010.
Steve Litt, Velocity at the William Busta Gallery,The Plain Dealer: October 23, 2009
Lori Waxman,“Allir Regnbogans Litir”, Gallery Turpentine, Reykjavik, Iceland, 2008.
Bergþóra Jónsdóttir, “Málari sem vefur málverk á vefstól”, Morgunblaðið: May 06, 2008.
Þóra Þórisdóttir, “Textað landslag”, Morgunblaðið: May 15, 2008.
Dan Cameron, Toby Devan Lewis, Peter B. Lewis, Toni Morrison and Mark Schwartz. “ARTWORKS The Progressive
Collection” New York: D.A.P./ Distributed Art Publishers, Inc., 2007
Saul Ostrow “Hildur Asgeirsdóttir Jónsson,The Vatnajökull Paintings” William Busta Gallery, Cleveland, 2007
Steve Litt “Hildur Jonsson displays Iceland-inspired art at Busta Gallery” The Plain Dealer: September 30, 2007.
Douglas Max Utter. “Barefoot Infinities Hildur Asgeirsdóttir Jónsson at William Busta”
Cleveland Free Times: September 26 – October 2, 2007
Dan Tranberg “Hildur Asgeirsdóttir Jónsson at the Museum of Contemporary Art”.
Art in America: December 2005
“The Neo Show” The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2005.
Ragna Sigurðardóttir “Woven of Light and Water” Morgunblaðið: October 21, 2005
Inga María Leifsdóttir “Iceland Woven of Silk” Morgunblaðið: October 07, 2005
Sverrir Guðjónsson “Örlagavefur” Hús og Híbýli: September 2005.
Steve Litt “Wonderful weavings work magic” The Plain Dealer: March 14, 2005.
Ana Vejzovic “Energy Forms.” Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, 2005.
Douglas Max Utter “Earth, Wind + Fire.” Angle: Issue # 18, 2005.
Amy Bracken Sparks “The Fabric of Life” The Plain Dealer: February 25, 2005.
Lyz Bly “Force of Nature.” Cleveland Free Times: February 2-8, 2005.
Douglas Max Utter “ Hildur Asgeirsdóttir Jonsson @ Superior (an exhibition space).” Angle: November, 2003.
Lyz Bly “A Force of Nature: Hildur Jonsson’s drawings echo Icelandic landscapes.” Cleveland Free Times: November 5-11, 2003.
Niko Angelis “Hildur Asgeirsdottir Jonsson @ Superior Exhibition Space.” Cool Cleveland.com: October 22-29, 2003
Heiða Jóhannsdóttir “Woven Land Fragments.” Morgunblaðið: November 16, 2002
Ransu “Woven Landscapes.” Morgunblaðið: November 28, 2002
Cate McQuaid. “Varity in scope and skill mark CCA prize show.” The Boston Globe: May 31, 2002
Dorothy Shinn. “Repeated Forms in Kent State Show, 3 painters, 3 fiber artists featured in “Circles, Cycles, Structures.” Akron Beacon Journal: April 11, 2002.
Douglas Max Utter. “As Good as it Gets.” Cleveland Free Times: October 18-24, 2000
Dan Tranberg. “Knockout show, with more to come.” The Plain Dealer: October 29, 2000