Biography

Valgerdur Hauksdottir is an Icelandic artist / printmaker. She holds a Masters of Fine Arts degree from the University of Illinois – Champaign / Urbana and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of New Mexico – Albuquerque.

From 1984 to 2003 Hauksdottir was on the faculty of the Icelandic College of Art and Crafts, later the Visual Art Department at the Iceland University of the Arts, where she served, e.g., as the Head of Printmaking department, Vice Principal of the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and as the founder / co-coordinator of PA&R, Printmaking, Art and Research, a co-operative and experimental printmaking programme between five European Art Institutions at Masters level. Hauksdottir has held positions of responsibility at artists associations, e.g., as the Chair of the Icelandic Printmakers' Association and has been appointed as a representative to many of the committees within the Icelandic Society of Artists. Hauksdottir has been a guest faculty and artist at number of art institutions and universities in Scandinavia, Europe and the United States. Her latest guest faculty position was as a Visiting Assistant Professor (2010 - 2012) in printmaking at Indiana University, Bloomington, Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts, Indiana, USA. Hauksdottir is the founding director of the cultural education and activity company VIA Ltd. One of the aims of the company is to conduct research in non-toxic and sustainable methods in fine art printmaking. For further information see http://www.via-art.com

Hauksdottir has completed numerous solo and invitational group exhibitions. Her largest solo exhibitions have taken place in Iceland, Denmark, Estonia, France, Holland, Scotland, Sweden, and the United States. In addition her work has been selected in over fifty exhibitions in most of the European countries as well as in Africa, China, India, Japan, Korea, Canada and the United States. Hauksdottir has received several awards and acknowledgments, e.g., from the Masters of Graphic Arts in Hungary, The Egyptian International Print Triennial, as Fulbright Visiting Scholar, as artist in residence at the Nordic ateliers in Finland and Denmark, the Scandinavian Foundation – Rome, Italy, in Cité International des Arts – Paris, France, at several universities in the United States and as a recipient of artists stipends from the Government of Iceland. Hauksdottir's works are found in public and private collections in Europe, the United States, Africa and Asia e.g., the National Gallery of Iceland, The City Art Museum of Reykjavik, Iceland, Alvar Alto Museum, Finland, Grafikens Hus, Mariefred, Sweden, Södertälje Konsthall, Sweden, Université de Caen, France, Intergrafik, Germany, The Art Museum of Grado and Catania, Italy, Colorado College, the University of Florida, Nevada, Texas, Utah and a number of other art museums and institutions.

Hauksdottir's artwork is represented in e.g., the books Printmaking at the Edge (2006) written by Richard Noyce, Printmaking: A Contemporary Perspective by Paul Coldwell (2010), and 130 Works from the Collection of the National Gallery of Iceland (2019).

Hauksdottir travels extensively in connection with her work. Her permanent residence is in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Contact artist directly by e-mail or by telephone.