Helga Páley Friðþjófsdóttir Icelandic, b. 1987
Helga Páley Friðþjófsdóttir (b. 1987) earned her BA degree from the Iceland University of the Arts in 2011 and works as a visual artist in Reykjavík. Since graduating, she has held numerous solo exhibitions and participated in group shows both in Iceland and internationally.
Painting has long been central to her artistic practice, a process of exploration where form, color, and texture take shape through intuition and repetition. She allows ideas to develop slowly, layering paint and letting images emerge over time. Through this process, stories unfold - built up, scraped away, and reworked until they settle into place on the canvas.
Recent solo exhibitions include Loaded Beach at Akureyri Art Museum (2025), Velvet Curtains at Listval (2024), and Janitor’s Big Hit at Þula (2021). Group exhibitions include Art is Our Only Hope! at Reykjavík Art Museum (2025), Some Paintings at The Living Art Museum (2024), and Summer Salon at Alice Folker Gallery, Copenhagen (2024). Her work has also been shown in Berlin, Basel, Helsinki, and Stockholm.
She has participated in residencies and artist-run initiatives, including TAXI Residency in Denver (2019), Kunstschlager Gallery (2013–15), and the board of Sequences - Real Time Art Festival (2016–17).
Solo Exhibitions
2025 · Loaded Beach, Akureyri Art Museum, Iceland
2024 · Velvet Curtains, Listval, Reykjavík, Iceland
2023 · Like &&, Y Gallery, Kópavogur, Iceland
2022 · Nice to See You, Alþýðuhúsið, Siglufjörður, Iceland
2021 · Bird, Norr11, Reykjavík, Iceland
2021 · Janitor’s Big Hit, Þula, Reykjavík, Iceland
2020 · Búkar, Gallerí Port, Reykjavík, Iceland
2019 · Innan Girðingar, Reykjavík Roasters, Reykjavík, Iceland
2017 · Minni Minni, Bismút, Reykjavík, Iceland
2017 · Fullt Minni, SÍM Salurinn, Reykjavík, Iceland
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025 · Art is Our Only Hope!, Reykjavík Art Museum, Iceland
2024 · Gaumgæfa, Y Gallery, Kópavogur, Iceland
2024 · Some Paintings, The Living Art Museum, Reykjavík, Iceland
2024 · Summer Salon, Alice Folker Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2024 · Date in the Park, Gallery Käytävä, Helsinki, Finland
2023 · Margt smátt, Harbinger, Reykjavík, Iceland
2022 · Fyrsta Flokkun, Muur, Höfn í Hornafirði, Iceland
2021 · Það þarf ekki allt að vera beint, The Icelandic Folk and Outsider Art Museum, Svalbarðseyri, Iceland
2020 · Zeitgeist, LÁ Art Museum, Hveragerði, Iceland
2015 · Culture Scapes, Kunstschlager Groupshow, Basel, Switzerland
2015 · Still Life, Reykjavík Art Museum, Iceland
2014 · Snugglve Nacht Hesten, Gallery Huuto, Helsinki, Finland
Education
2017–2018 · Motion Creative, Hyper Island, Stockholm, Sweden
2008–2011 · BA Fine Art, Iceland University of the Arts, Reykjavík, Iceland
Other Projects & Residencies
2023 · Heimur Gerðar Helgadóttur, book illustrations
2019 · TAXI Residency, Denver, USA
2016–2017 · Board member, Sequences – Real Time Art Festival
2013–2015 · Member, Kunstschlager Gallery
2012 · Director, Æringi Art Festival, Rif, Iceland