Interview
Steingrímur Gauti
Born in Reykjavík, Iceland, in 1986, Steingrímur Gauti developed a passion for the arts in early youth and continued on this path, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Iceland University of Arts in 2015. Since then, he has been highly active in the art world, locally and internationally, quickly gaining notice for his large-scale abstract paintings along with various activities in the vibrant Icelandic arts scene. His works are currently featured in collections found in Iceland, Europe, the US and Asia.
Steingrímur primarily works in acrylics, along with a range of synthetic texture mediums, chalks and pigments. His most recent work includes large, sparse, abstract expanses on canvas, with childlike drawings and scribbles of sentences scattered, sometimes hidden, in the many layers of paint he applies.
Drawing inspiration from his surroundings — the often overwhelming Icelandic nature and the country's unpredictable, ever-changing weather — along with daily life and urban textures, his works are expressive and impulsive, yet delicate and nuanced. His visceral abstract language is reminiscent of both landscape painting and Twombly-esque graffiti, with the balance of thin and thick layers of paint with incoherent writing and drawings peeking through — bringing the almost monochrome paintings to life.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I was born in Reykjavík, where I have lived for most of my life. As with many artists, I developed a passion for the arts at an early age. I spent most of my time drawing and painting when I was a kid, and when the time came, I felt like I had to have a shot at making it my career. I graduated from the Iceland University of the Arts in 2015, with a year as an exchange student at Universität der Künste in Berlin, Germany. I currently live in a quiet old neighborhood in Reykjavík with my fiancée and two daughters, but our plan is to relocate to Italy in the new year to experience their friendlier climate.
I have been fortunate enough to get more than my fair share of opportunities in recent years that have allowed me to do this for a living, which I don't take for granted. The art world can be tough. I recently signed with Parisian gallery Galerie Marguo, and I'm hoping that being on the mainland will allow me to be more integrated into the continental art scene.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“I’m not really sure. I have lived in Iceland most of my life and both the nature and the weather here really hit your core. I have a strong interest in geology and I am very curious about my environment. I have always been very drawn to abstract landscapes, like the works of Per Kirkeby and Joan Mitchell, as well as that period of Cy Twombly’s work. But in essence, my painting just talks about painting, and its visual impact on the viewer. It is completely open to interpretation. What I am interested in is the descriptive ability of the primitive, direct and sincere visual experience, and expressing some basic forms of human emotions.”
What inspires you most?
“I get inspired by many different things. As I go through my day - even while taking care of my girls, I am subconsciously looking to be inspired. I was taking my four year old daughter to kindergarten the other day and they had just built this really cool shed to grow some plants and flowers. Then the girls had been allowed to take chalks to it and decorate it, and it had these amazing free-flowing abstract drawings on it. I couldn’t get to the studio fast enough to try to make something out of it!
Living in Iceland, it's hard not to be influenced by the dramatic landscape. It's almost like living on the moon. This year there was a volcanic eruption thirty minutes outside of Reykjavík, and people were walking all the way up to it and having a picnic, which pretty much sums up the mentality here. I spend a fair amount of time in nature, and although my paintings are purely abstract, they definitely have a feeling of landscape painting to them. My palette is probably a reflection of that, although not entirely intentional. I think my use of colours is very instinctive, and has all sorts of notations. Some, like the greens and browns, have a strong natural connection.
I have been a Zen-student for a few years, and that has influenced my work quite a bit. Not really in an aesthetic sense, but in my approach to the work itself. Zen sends us looking inwards for some kind of enlightenment - whatever that may be. There's no need to search outside for any answers - we can find the answers in the same place that we found the questions. Through meditation, we can give up logical thinking and avoid getting trapped in a spider web of words or unnecessary critique. I don’t think we can learn this truth by philosophising or rational thought, and I think the same goes for making art.”
“Living in Iceland, it's hard not to be influenced by the dramatic landscape. It's almost like living on the moon. Although my paintings are purely abstract, they definitely have a feeling of landscape painting to them.”
How would you describe your work?
“I have a strong inclination toward imprecision, repetition, and slow evolutions. I try to avoid any meaning-making and pre-conceptualisation, but I do think my work has some emotional content and a meaning which is more or less centered in the discussion and context of the painting itself. I’d like for it to be in the poetic range - to be dynamic and physical but also light and almost childlike. Personally, I feel that the mixture of an intuitive and tender touch, with a raw and dynamic material quality makes a painting successful. But getting there can be really difficult, because there really isn't an endpoint. It is more a question of effort - if I try too hard to achieve some specific outcome, it always ends up feeling forced.
In theory, abstract work doesn’t attempt to represent an accurate depiction of a visual reality, but we all have our own reality, and our own way of looking at the world. In a way it is timeless, because looking at paintings from decades ago, you can experience the same thing as a viewer from any era. It doesn’t necessarily reflect the zeitgeist - it is just your knowledge and your experience that make up the story. That was probably what interested me in making abstract work in the first place. I think with more figurative works there is usually a story somewhere, whereas my work is a direct reflection or response to my surroundings and experiences. I’m not a storyteller. I prefer to create a more visceral set where the viewer can make up their own narrative.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“Well, we could go all the way back to the cave paintings showing the interaction between our primitive ancestors and the world as they perceived it, but today I think artists in general have a very important and wide role in society. It's about bringing something new and different to the table. It doesn't have to be anything extraordinary, it could just be providing a little bit of inspiration to someone. To stop and see things from another perspective. Technology and social media is definitely altering the way we experience art, which I find very interesting.”
Which artists influence you most?
“When looking at paintings by other artists, I sometimes get the feeling of immediately wanting to go to the studio and paint. Any painting that can promote that kind of response is very inspiring. I get really curious about what they are thinking and what their process is. Where does the inspiration come from? What makes us different? And can we intersect anywhere?
When I first got into painting I became obsessed with the Abstract Expressionist movement, most notably the works of Robert Motherwell and Clyfford Still. I think I felt some sort of strange nostalgia towards that period in time. The poetic and self-effacing works of Agnes Martin and Cy Twombly have also had a big influence on me, Georg Baselitz and Per Kirkeby are up there as well. Recently I have been really into the works of Salman Toor, Andreas Eriksson and Mark Bradford.”
What is your creative process like?
“I can be very obsessive when it comes to working. My mantra throughout my career so far has been to make as much as I can - be it good or bad - and then I might have a better chance of making something good. I usually work really quickly and intuitively, but the paintings can take a long time to become fully finished and many of them never get to see the outside of my studio. I use processes I’m quite comfortable with but I try to push things to a point where the results surprise me.
I usually don’t plan how my work will look - it’s a very intuitive process from beginning to end. The preparation stage is very important to me, as it is usually how I start to get some ideas and the first feel for a painting. Most of my inspiration comes naturally, through working mindfully with my hands. The process of making is never exactly the same, and that is what keeps me captivated when painting. I think the process needs to be exciting, especially when making abstract works. If I am excited, the painting has a chance of being exciting.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“My first solo exhibition with Galerie Marguo in Paris recently finished (click to see), as well as a duo show with my friend Sigtryggur Berg at Diller Daniels in Zurich (click to see)”
Website: www.steingrimurgauti.com
Instagram: @steingrimur_gauti
