Lilja Birgisdóttir, IS

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, Birgisdóttir 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.

Birgisdóttir’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. Birgisdóttir’s notable projects include The Vessel 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. Birgisdóttir 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, Birgisdóttir has produced photographic works for musicians like Damien Rice and Sigur Rós. Birgisdóttir lives and works in Reykjavík, Iceland.