Connections

Connections, 50x90cm, oil on canvas

Within the Blue Flame / Í bláma logans

Within the Blue Flame is a series by Andrea Aðalsteins, composed of oil paintings and watercolors that explore the nuances, depths, and scales of blue. The series investigates the spaces between objects, the seen and unseen, and the interplay between form and atmosphere—where the material meets the immaterial.

The works reflect the self as a continuously shifting, non-material landscape, where materials and media transform in pursuit of new forms of expression. Philosophical ideas from Luce Irigaray, particularly on the ever-changing self through feminist and Eastern thought, are woven into the imagery alongside metaphysical and ontological considerations.

The first part of this series was exhibited as part of Bright Burn at the Hamraborg Festival in 2024, alongside works by Sigthora Odins and Heiðrún Gréta Viktorsdóttir. Bright Burn explored the contact points between objects and the space that surrounds them—what might be called “half-objects,” existing between realities. Andrea’s works continue this inquiry, creating a visual dialogue between inner and outer landscapes through color, form, and texture.

Andrea Ágústa Aðalsteinsdóttir (b. 1991) graduated from the Iceland University of the Arts in 2015 and is an Icelandic contemporary artist working with oneiric ideas, where the body becomes a metaphor for the world and its constant transformations. Her work explores the concept of presence and so-called half-objects, playing with the boundaries between the tangible and the abstract, interpreting what lies between the object and the being. Primarily focused on painting, sculpture, and performance, her creations invite viewers to connect with their inner landscapes while offering unusual perspectives on the world, rooted in metaphysical reflections. Over the years, she has collaborated with art collectives like Computer Spirit and the performance duo Óþokkarnir, worked closely with the gallery Ekkisens, and served as the editor of Listvísi – Journal of Art. Notable exhibitions include Ljósbruni at the Hamraborg Festival (2024), Community of Sentient Beings at Hafnarborg (2021), and Rúmelsi#3: Stream at the Living Art Museum (2018).