Image courtesy of The Icelandic Art Center and Sunday&White
Finnbogi Pétursson wins Artist of the Year Award
March 16, 2026
March 16, 2026
BERG Contemporary congratulates Finnbogi Pétursson on his award as Visual Artist of the Year 2026, which was presented by Logi Einarsson, Minister of Culture at Austurbæjarbíó on 11 March. He received the award for his exhibition Quake at the LÁ Art Museum.
Finnbogi Pétursson (b. 1959): has combined sound and visual presentation in installations that have no clear precedent in the visual arts but cross the boundaries into music, performance, and uncharted territories where he extends the possibilities of technology. His pieces range from the scale of architecture to minute, almost ethereal, sound-producing objects, and he has also released recordings of compositions, often collaborating with musicians and composers. All his work aims to extend our experience of sound and make us more aware of its presence in our environment, including its influence on our other sensory faculties.
Pétursson studied at the Icelandic School of Art and Crafts and the Jan Van Eyck Academy in the Netherlands. In recent years, some of his works have become more emotionally nuanced, as in Quake. The jury's comment states that Quake encapsulates the guiding themes of Pétursson's previous works, which have inspired artists, and awoken the interest of scholars and visitors.
Pétursson's works have been showcased worldwide, with exhibitions in The National Gallery of Iceland, The Reykjavík Art Museum, Schafhof – European Center for Art in Germany, The Stedelijk Museum in The Netherlands, The Moderna Museet in Sweden, Wood Street Galleries and Sean Kelly Gallery in the US. He represented Iceland at the Venice Biennale in 2001, and he was the recipient of the Gerður Helgadóttir Award in 2022, which he received for his significant contribution to sculptural and spatial art in Iceland.
Finnbogi Pétursson (b. 1959): has combined sound and visual presentation in installations that have no clear precedent in the visual arts but cross the boundaries into music, performance, and uncharted territories where he extends the possibilities of technology. His pieces range from the scale of architecture to minute, almost ethereal, sound-producing objects, and he has also released recordings of compositions, often collaborating with musicians and composers. All his work aims to extend our experience of sound and make us more aware of its presence in our environment, including its influence on our other sensory faculties.
Pétursson studied at the Icelandic School of Art and Crafts and the Jan Van Eyck Academy in the Netherlands. In recent years, some of his works have become more emotionally nuanced, as in Quake. The jury's comment states that Quake encapsulates the guiding themes of Pétursson's previous works, which have inspired artists, and awoken the interest of scholars and visitors.
Pétursson's works have been showcased worldwide, with exhibitions in The National Gallery of Iceland, The Reykjavík Art Museum, Schafhof – European Center for Art in Germany, The Stedelijk Museum in The Netherlands, The Moderna Museet in Sweden, Wood Street Galleries and Sean Kelly Gallery in the US. He represented Iceland at the Venice Biennale in 2001, and he was the recipient of the Gerður Helgadóttir Award in 2022, which he received for his significant contribution to sculptural and spatial art in Iceland.