Lilja Birgisdóttir b. 1983
Lilja Birgisdóttir (b. 1983) is an Icelandic artist whose practice spans various mediums, including photography, performance, video art, sound art, and installations. She studied photography at the Royal Academy of Arts, The Hague, Netherlands, graduating in 2007, and later earned her BA in Fine Art from the Iceland Academy of the Arts, Reykjavík, in 2010. Since completing her studies, Lilja has been actively involved with the artist-run gallery Kling & Bang in Reykjavík, where she plays a crucial role in curating and selecting artists. In 2011, she co-founded Endemi, an art magazine dedicated to contemporary Icelandic art, alongside other female artists.
Lilja’s recent exhibitions include Faux Flora at the National Nordic Museum, Seattle, USA, her solo show It’s Not You It’s Me at Þula in 2022, and Gróður, a group exhibition at Berg Contemporary in 2020. She has also collaborated with Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir for the exhibition Hlutskipti / Fated, opening at Þula in 2024. In 2015, she presented If Your Colors Were Like My Dream, a solo exhibition at Rawson Projects in New York, and The And at Jacqueline Falcone B&B in Miami. Her work was also showcased at the Nada Art Fair in New York the same year. Lilja’s notable projects include TheVessel Orchestra, the opening act for the Reykjavík Art Festival in 2013, where she collaborated with the captains of Reykjavík harbour to create a sound performance using the ship’s whistles of 15 vessels.
Her artistic practice emphasises themes of transformation and the handmade, often engaging with concepts of reusing, upcycling, and dealing with waste. Lilja frequently combines photography with other mediums, such as oil paint, and creates unique works using plants and everyday objects encased in resin. She is also a member of the international art collective Fischersund, currently preparing for a solo exhibition at the Nordic Museum in Seattle. In addition to her visual art, Lilja has produced photographic works for musicians like Damien Rice and Sigur Rós. Lilja Birgisdóttir lives and works in Reykjavík, Iceland. Recent exhibitions include a solo exhibition If your colors were like my dream at Rawson Projects, New York, 2015 and The And a solo exhibition in Jacqueline Falcone B&B, Miami 2015. Lilja presented artwork in Nada artfair 2015 in New York. Lilja works in various mediums like photography, performance, video art, sound art and installations. Lilja was the author of the The Vessel Orchestra, the opening act for the Reykjavík Art Festival in collaboration with the 15 captains of the Reykjavík Harbour, May 2013. Lilja’s photographic work include images for Damien Rice and Sigur Rós.
Exhibitions
2025 - Þverskurður / Cross Section, Þula Gallerí, Reykjavík (Group exhibition)
2024 - Faux Flora, curated by Leslie Anderson, The Nordic Museum, Seattle, USA (as Fischersund Art Collective)
2024 - Hlutskipti / Fated, Þula Gallery, Reykjavík (with Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir)
2023 - Scent and Sound, Le Poisson Rouge, New York (as Fischersund Art Collective)
2022 - It’s Not You It’s Me, Þula Gallery, Reykjavík
2021 - Ilmur landslags, Listval, Reykjavík
2020 - Þögult Vor, curated by Daria Sól, Hafnarborg, Reykjavík
2020 - Gróður, curated by Ingibjörg Jónsdóttir, Berg Contemporary, Reykjavík
2019 - Rúllandi Snjóbolti 12, curated by May Lee, Ineke Guðmundsson and Annele Muster, Djúpivogur, Iceland
2018 - Dinner Party With Cyclone, curated by Mari Kappala, Forum Box, Helsinki
2018 - Heyr Heyr, Iðnó, Reykjavík (with María Huld and Björn Kristjánsson)
2017 - Twenty/20, Edward Cella Gallery, Los Angeles
2017 - Love Me Back, curated by Jessamyn Fiore, Rawson Projects, New York
2017 - Fischer, Fischersund, Reykjavík
2016 - Andvari, curated by Katrín Elvarsdóttir, National Museum of Iceland, Reykjavík (Group exhibition)
2016 - Cyclone II, curated by Mari Krappala, Titanic Gallery, Finland (Group exhibition)
2016 - Moment Gone, Ultra Super New Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2015 - If Your Colors Were Like My Dream, Rawson Projects, New York
2015 - II Machines, a performance in Knockdown Center, New York
2015 - Birting, Gerðarsafn, Kópavogur, Iceland (Part of Reykjavík Art Festival)
2015 - 13 þrykk, Týsgallerý, Reykjavík, Iceland
2015 - The And, Jaqueline Falcone B&B, Miami
2014 - 40-42 gráður, Listamenn Gallery, Reykjavík, Iceland
2014 - Cyclone, Listasafn Árnesinga, Hveragerði, Iceland (Part of Reykjavík Art Festival)
2014 - The Balloon, Rawson Projects, New York
2014 - Composition #2, A sound performance on ESP TV, New York
2013 - The Vessel Orchestra, Reykjavík harbour, Iceland (Opening act of Reykjavík Art Festival)
2013 - The Art Side of the Múm, Gallery Listamenn, Reykjavík
2012 - Varúð, Listamenn Gallery, Reykjavík
2012 - The Demented Diamond and The Color Scheme of the Kling & Bang Confected
2011 - Video Archive, Reykjavík Art Museum, Reykjavík
2011 - Kling and Bang, TJ Boulting Gallery, London
2011 - Hljómur norðursins, Galtarviti, Keflavík, Iceland (Group exhibition)
2011 - KVELDÚLFUR – Sjónsuða, Verksmiðjan Hjalteyri, Hjalteyri, Iceland
2011 - MARGLAGA – Skynjunarskóli, Kling and Bang gallery, Reykjavík
2011 - Piparka.ka., Display in Aurum, Reykjavík
2011 - Homies where the heart is, GUM, Reykjavík (a performance with Elizabeth Sonenberg)
2010 - 4 Video Works, Precious Gallery, Miami (with Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir)
2010 - The Last Shapes of Never; a collection of videoworks, Kling and bang gallery, Reykjavík (with Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir)
2010 - Bakkus Postulanna, Graduation show, Iceland Academy of the Arts (Group exhibition)
2010 - Konan og húsið, Frieze Art Fair, Paris, France
2010 - 25 Video Works, Múm and Friends, Krakow, Poland (with Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir)
2010 - Gegnum, Skaftfell, Seyðisfjörður, Iceland
2010 - Ship Horn Composition, Villa Reykjavík Art Festival, Reykjavík, Iceland
2010 - Sjógangur, Slippurinn, Reykjavík (with Selma Hreggviðsdóttir and Elísabet Brynhildardóttir)
Other projects
2015 - Teacher, Lunga Art Festival
2013 - Teacher, Lunga Art Festival
2010- - Boardmember of Kling and Bang gallery
2011 - Founder of Endemi, a magazine showcasing Icelandic art
2011 - Teacher, Lunga Art Festival
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Group show
Þverskurður / Cross Section 22 Feb - 6 Apr 2025Þverskurður / Cross Section is a group exhibition that brings together works by ten artists represented by Þula, each with a unique approach to materials and media. The exhibition highlights...Read more -
Lilja Birgisdóttir + Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir
Hlutskipti // Fated 24 Feb - 31 Mar 2024Fated All our lives we sell our time and energy to be able to acquire things. Slowly but surely they accumulate until they end up hidden in a closet or...Read more -
Lilja Birgisdóttir
It's Not You, It's Me 2 - 24 Apr 2022Read more
