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About Gunnella Education and Exhibitons |
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| Garðabær, Ísland 28 May 2005 in the evening |
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Come In / Velkominn |
I live and work in the town of Garðabær, only minutes west of Reykjavík. From my window I can look out and see Mount Keilir. | ||||
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| I was born the 6th of July l956 in Reykjavík, and grew up there. I was thirteen when I bought my own first oil-color-set. I was always painting something through the years. I went to and completed the Commercial College of Iceland in l974. I always wanted to study art and I then went to the College of Art and Craft. When I had finished the first general two years in 1976 my son was born so I spent a few years when he was little raising him, but started school again in 1983. I graduated in l986, from the graphics section. My studies were in serigraphy. Soon after I graduated, I bought my own graphics equipment and started working in my own graphics-studio for a few years. I sold my work in a gallery in Reykjavík, had a few solo exhibitions and participated in joint exhibitions. I like working in serigraphy. It gives you the opportunity to use various techniques. (Andy Warhol's famous portrait of Marilyn Monroe is an example of a serigraph). Unfortunately serigraphy is not very good for your health. The materials are very toxic. You need to have a good air-conditioning, wear gloves up to your elbow, and also wear a mask. So, step-by-step, I switched from serigraphy to oil painting. It wasn't until 1992 that I first showed my oil paintings in a joint exhibition. In 1995 I had my first serious solo exhibition. Since then I have only worked in oils. |
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 Gunnella in 2002 with her painting done in 1997 |
 Painting done in 2001 |
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| My work today looks very different from my first work exhibited in 1992. However, the themes with people are similar in many ways. Today, I'm painting pictures from the photo-album of my mind, pictures that I have collected from my memories of people, especially of my grandmother, who lived in the north of the country. She lived in a town called Siglufjörður. I paint her and her house and the surroundings. | |||||
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| Siglufjörður Click the painting on the right to see more about the people in it. I'm holding the Teddy Bear. |
 Afi og amma / My Grandparents |
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| Click the photo on the right to vist Gunnella and her grandparent's home in Siglufjörður. |
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| Where do ideas come from? | |||||
| Old photos, especially photos that show the daily lives of people at the beginning of the last century, also fascinate me. The Saga of the Icelandic people is quite amazing. I was so very difficult to survive here on this rocky Iceland in the north. My grandparents told stories of their primitive living from their growing-up years. That was only one decade ago, unbelievable. Knowing this Saga inspires me, directly and indirectly. I tell stories of the old-time-living but in my own way. I use some spices like flowers and trees from my garden and the powerful Snæfellsnes glacier. | |||||
 My Cat |
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I've been told that my paintings show that women can do whatever they want. I like that. |
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| www.gunnella.info | |||||