BERG Contemporary (IS)

BERG Contemporary aims to provide a diversified forum for contemporary art by representing emerging and established artists, and by seeking the resonant tone of the present through a programme of innovative exhibitions. BERG Contemporary is located in an old glass factory in Reykjavík, Iceland.

Smiðjustígur 10 / Klapparstígur 16
101 Reykjavík
Iceland
(+354) 562 0001

gallery@bergcontemporary.is
bergcontemporary.is

Contact gallery

Curated for
CHART

BERG Contemporary presents three artists at CHART 2025: Bernd Koberling, Kristján Steingrímur and Þórdís Erla Zoëga. Influenced by their fascination with nature, each one of these artists represents a different medium, generation, and approach towards the natural world. Bernd Koberling’s interpretations of flora and fauna have become known to many through his watercolor paintings. Kristján Steingrímur sources his natural materials from places of historic importance, which he proceeds to paint with directly. Lastly, the dichroic sculptures by Þórdís Erla Zoëga are reminiscent of the sun and moon, revealing an interplay of hue, reflection, and shadow, depending on the time of day.

Bernd Koberling (DE)

Bernd Koberling is a leading figure of the German 1980s Neo-Expressionist movement known as the Neue Wilde. Often referencing the natural world, and inspired by Icelandic landscapes, his motifs portray an abandonment of purely figurative landscapes but have yet to lose themselves in complete abstraction. His works have been exhibited widely throughout a career that spans more than 60 years and is considered one of the most important German painters of his generation, as he continuously succeeds in developing and reinventing his artistic language.

Bernd Koberling (b. 1938, Berlin; DE) is known for legendary exhibitions such as ‘A New Spirit in Painting’ at the Royal Academy of Arts in London (1981) and ‘Zeitgeist’ in the Martin-Gropius-Bau in then-West Berlin (1982). He was a longtime professor at the Universität der Künste in Berlin and was awarded the Fred Thieler Prize in 2006. He has been a member of the Berlin Academy of Arts since 2012 and continues to divide his time between Berlin and Iceland.

Untitled

Watercolor
2024

Courtesy of the artist and BERG Contemporary

Untitled

Watercolor
2024

Courtesy of the artist and BERG Contemporary

Untitled

Watercolour
2024

Courtesy of the artist and BERG Contemporary

Untitled

Watercolour
2024

Courtesy of the artist and BERG Contemporary

Untitled

Watercolour
2024

Courtesy of the artist and BERG Contemporary

Celestial Undergrowth

Installation view
2022

Courtesy of the artist and BERG Contemporary

Portrait of Bernd Koberling

Courtesy of the artist and BERG Contemporary

Kristján Steingrímur (IS)

Kristján Steingrímur paints with colors made from minerals that originate in places relevant to human history, as well as the here and now. Utilizing the ancient artistic method of grinding minerals down to dust-like pigment, he then carries on to add binder to them. When applied to the canvas, his paintings therefore serve as material evidence of the existence of places and a reminder, that they are equally dependent on our perceptions of them. The works further reflect the fact that life on earth materializes as soil in the end, and begin to serve as an archive of our existence.

Kristján Steingrímur (b. 1957, IS) studied at The Icelandic College of Arts and Handicrafts and at The Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg. Previous exhibitions include: the National Gallery of Iceland, the Reykjavík Art Museum, Overgaden in Copenhagen, Kunstlerhaus Bethanien, and The Common House at the Nordic Embassies in Berlin. During 1999-2016, he served as Dean of the Department of Fine Art at the Iceland Academy of the Arts.

A coffeepot For Juliane Marie

Mineral pigment from Bleikjuholt in Mókollsdalur valley in Strandir region and acrylic on canvas
2022

Courtesy of the artist and BERG Contemporary

A saucer for Juliane Marie

Mineral pigment from Bleikjuholt in Mókollsdalur valley in Strandir region and acrylic on canvas
2022

Courtesy of the artist and BERG Contemporary

Below

Mineral pigment from the Dead Sea and acrylic on canvas
2022

Courtesy of the artist and BERG Contemporary

Blue life I

Acrylic on canvas
2022

Courtesy of the artist and BERG Contemporary

Þórdís Erla Zoëga (IS)

Þórdís Erla Zoëga’s practice is driven by material research and investigation of digital intimacy, post-humanism, science fiction, and connection to our surroundings. She works in multiple mediums including installations, sculpture, paintings, and video. Her work explores the interrelationship between man-made materials and natural phenomena, light, and time, as well as the schemes and routines we implement to make sense of our world.

Þórdís Erla Zoëga (b.1988, IS) lives and works in Reykjavík, Iceland. She graduated from Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. She has exhibited her work in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Berlin, Basel, and the Czech Republic. In Iceland, her exhibitions include the National Gallery of Iceland, The Reykjavík Arts Festival, the Reykjavík Art Museum, and collaborations with the Icelandic Dance Company.

DUSK

Installation view
2022

Courtesy of the artist and BERG Contemporary

Spaced Out

Installation view
2022

Courtesy of the artist and BERG Contemporary

Þordis Erla Zoega At CHART 2024

Installation view
2024

Courtesy of the artist and BERG Contemporary

CHURCH Window

Installation view
2024

Courtesy of the artist and BERG Contemporary

Portrait of Þórdís Erla Zoëga

Courtesy of the artist and BERG Contemporary