Hildur Elísa Jónsdóttir

Hildur Elísa Jónsdóttir
Hildur Elísa Jónsdóttir in 2025
Born1993 (age 31–32)
Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
Occupations
  • Artist
  • musician
  • composer
Years active2010s–present
Websitehildurelisa.com

Hildur Elísa Jónsdóttir (born 1993) is an Icelandic artist, musician and composer whose practice spans performance, installation, and sound, and explores storytelling and immersive spatial experiences. Based between Amsterdam and Reykjavík, her work frequently engages relational aesthetics and institutional critique.[1][2]

Early life and education

Jónsdóttir completed a diploma in classical clarinet from the Reykjavík College of Music in 2015, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Iceland University of the Arts in 2019. In 2018, she also attended the Kunst und Vermittlung department at Hochschule Luzern through an exchange programme.[3]

In 2024, she completed the temporary programme Re:master Opera (MA-level) at the Sandberg Instituut in Amsterdam.[4]

Career

Her work has been described as reframing everyday gestures, within operatic performance or contemporary music, to reflect on presence, absence, surreality, grief, and listening dynamics.[1]

In 2023, Juho Myllylä premiered Jónsdóttir's composition for soprano recorder in C and Paetzold Great Bass Recorder in C, her immeasurable soul, at Grachtenfestival (Amsterdam, the Netherlands).[5] Later that same year, Myllylä also performed her immeasurable soul at Gaudeamus (Utrecht, the Netherlands) and November Music ('s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands).[6] In August 2023, Jónsdóttir presented Seeking Solace in Outvert Art Space (Ísafjörður, Iceland).[7] In October that same year, she also presented a new video version and a live performance of Seeking Solace at the 2023 Tokyo Biennale in Chiyoda, Tokyo.[8]

In 2024, her operatic work fanfare was shown at O. Festival (Rotterdam, the Netherlands),[9] Hamraborg Festival (Kópavogur, Iceland),[10] during the Sandberg Instituut Graduation Exhibition (Amsterdam, the Netherlands),[11] and in SIGN (Groningen, the Netherlands).[12] In June 2024, Jónsdóttir participated in the group exhibition Course in The Living Art Museum, curated by Sunna Ástþórsdóttir and Þorsteinn Eyfjörð, with her piece addolorato.[13] As part of the exhibition, Jónsdóttir's piece ULTRADOLENTE was performed by a nine-piece ensemble on June 27.[14] In August, Jónsdóttir opened the solo exhibition Seeking Solace in Y Gallery (Kópavogur, Iceland).[15]

In 2025, Jónsdóttir participated in het resort's residency and exhibition "doesn't last then does it", which took place in Schouwcafé de Souffleur in Groningen.[16] Jónsdóttir was featured on the Icelandic national broadcaster RÚV’s experimental music programme "Straumar", in conversation with host Árni Matthíasson, in the episode Hið ofurvenjulega er ótrúlega skrýtið (3 June 2025), which included artist reflections and excerpts from her works, such as fanfare and ULTRADOLENTE.[17]

Selected works

  • the gospels (2025), a cardgame-driven, operatic performance for a group of overdressed and unapologetically loud women.
  • Popsicle's Lament (2025), an operatic for a single performer that sings a lullaby to a popsicle as it melts in their hands.
  • fanfare (2024), a series of operatic performances for groups of vocalists and everyday items, in various shapes and sizes, inspired by the city soundscape. Each of fanfare’s movements represents a different means of transportation while highlighting the internal struggles the fast-paced city life invokes.
  • Seeking Solace (2023), an operatic office performance that delves into the stark contrast between the outward face of professional life and the internal struggles modern individuals face.
  • her immeasurable soul (2023), featured on Juho Myllylä's debut album Herder's Herd, a ten-minute-long piece for soprano recorder in C and Paetzold Great Bass Recorder in C, exploring two contrasting lovers discovering how to bridge the gap between them, or even how to begin to try.
  • ULTRADOLENTE (2021), an investigation into the representation of sorrow, particularly male mourning and its representation in society.
  • Tacet: Extrinsic (2019), a durational piece for a silent performer sitting within an orchestra, or an ensemble, through a concert. The silent performer is indistinguishable from any other performers on the stage except for the fact that they (the silent performer) never pick up an instrument or make a sound.
  • Konzert für Spielzeug und Schwimmbad (2018), a performance for a performer fully submerged in a swimming pool while breathing through a toy instrument.

Awards and recognition

  • Iceland Artists' Salary Fund awarded in 2025[18]
  • Mondriaan Fonds Artist Start awarded in 2025

References

  1. ^ a b "As a human being, I am just a temporary home for potential beauty – Interview with Hildur Elísa Jónsdóttir". Echo Gone Wrong. 20 August 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  2. ^ "to revel in the seemingly endless völundarhús". Icelandic Art Center. 15 May 2025. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  3. ^ "Hildur Elísa Jónsdóttir – member page". Konstmusiksystrar. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  4. ^ "Hildur Elísa Jónsdóttir – Alumni Library". Sandberg Instituut. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  5. ^ "Grachtenfestival Amsterdam maakt zich sterk voor de blokfluit en jonge componisten". de nieuwe muze. 18 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  6. ^ "Composer Hildur Elísa Jónsdóttir". Gaudeamus. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  7. ^ "SÝNINGAR/Exhibitions". Outvert Art Space/Gallerí Úthverfa. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  8. ^ "Seeking Solace – Tokyo Biennale 2023". Tokyo Biennale. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  9. ^ "fanfare". Hildur Elísa Jónsdóttir’s official site. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  10. ^ "Performance Evening HAMRABORG FESTIVAL". Gerðarsafn. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  11. ^ "Graduation 2024 – Hildur Elísa Jónsdóttir". Sandberg Instituut. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  12. ^ "fanfare: demons possessed (laughing women) at the opening of Tempo Incantata in SIGN". SIGN Groningen. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  13. ^ "Course: Aki Onda, Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir, Hildur Elísa Jónsdóttir, Logi Leó Gunnarsson". The Living Art Museum. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  14. ^ "Course: ULTRADOLENTE by Hildur Elísa Jónsdóttir". The Living Art Museum. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  15. ^ "Seeking Solace". Icelandic Art Center. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  16. ^ "Season 8 Episode 1". het resort. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  17. ^ "Hið ofurvenjulega er ótrúlega skrýtið". RÚV (Straumar). Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  18. ^ "Iceland Artists' Salary Fund 2025". Government of Iceland. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
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