Spessi - Sigurþór Hallbjörnsson - born 1956 in Ísafjörður, Iceland
Spessi is a founding member and first chairman of FÍSL, ICPA (2007) – The Icelandic Contemporary Photography Association www.fisl.is
Education and work
1989 - 1990 De Vrije Akademie, Den Haag, Netherlands
1993 - 1994 AKI - Akademie voor Beeldende Kunst, Enschede, Netherlands
1990 - 1992 Staff Photographer at Pressan newspaper, Reykjavík, Iceland
2000 - 2004 Lecturer at the Icelandic Art Academy
2005 - Teacher at The Icelandic School of Photography
2019 - Lecturer at The school of technology, Cinematography
Spessi has done advertisement (print) and editorials, for among others: Big New York, New York Times, Politiken, Extrabladet and Information in Denmark, MINI International Germany, Forum AID and MCM Sweden.
Selected private exhibitons
1996 Heroes - The Tarhouse, Ísafjörður
1996 People - Höfðaborg, Hafnarhúsið, Reykjavík
1999 Bensín - Kjarvalsstaðir, Reykjavík Art Museum
2000 Bensín - Roebling Hall, New York
2001 Bensín - The Lydmar Hotel Stockholm, Sweden
2002 Campsite - Roebling Hall, New York
2002 Heroes - Nordic House, Faroe Islands 2003 Tourist Spots - Iceland National Gallery
2003 BASE - The Living Art Museum, Reykjavík (with Erik Pauser)
2004 Example / Portrait - Ísafjörður Art Museum
2005 Base - Nordatlantens Brygge Chopenhagen (with Erik Pauser)
2006 Workers - 101 Gallery, Reykjavik
2006 Location - Hafnarborg Art museum, Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
2008 Chicken Fajitas in the Manner of Google... Gallery 100°
2008 Gallery Vartai - Art Photography Festival in Vilnius 2008 2
010 Heroes / Sample - Ísafjörður Art Museum
2013 Horse With No Name – Reykjavík Museum of Photography – Reykjavík Arts Festival
2014 Workers – Gallerí Úthverfa/Gallery Outvert Ísafjörður
2015 Food People and Post Office - Gallery Schody, Warsaw Festival of Art Photography
2015 Food People and Post Office – Listamenn Gallerí, Reykjavík
2015 Food People and Post Office – Gallerí Úthverfa/Gallery Outvert, Ísafjörður
2015 Horse With No Name – Inside Outsider Gallery, Frankfort Kansas
2018 111 – Reykjavík Arts festival 2018 – Gallerí Rýmd Völvufell
2019 Modernist heritage, Ramskram Gallery Reykjavík
2021 Spessi 1990-2020 Retrospective –National museum of Iceland
2021 111 - Northern Photographic Center Oulu Finland
Film
2003 300 Accordions - Documentary film 30 min
2012 - Horse With No Name – Documentary, full feature film, work in progress
2023 - Megas - Full length documentary
Group exhibitons
1998 In the flesh - The Living Art Museum, Reykjavík
1998 Gallery Slunkaríki, Ísafjörður (with Steingrímur Eyfjörð Kristmundsson)
1999 Samma motiv – Rantagalleria, Oulu, Finland
2000 World Trade - Roebling Hall, New York
2001 Faces and Figures - Scandinavian House, New York
2001 Reykjavík samtímans - Reykjavík Photo Museum
2002 Campsite - Gerðarsafn Kópavogur, Iceland
2002 Seasons in Icelandic Photography - Retrospective - Moscow
2003 Icelandic contemporary photography - Reykjavík Art Museum
2004 Environment and Nature – Iceland National Gallery
2004 Paysages islandais - Fnac Saint Lazare
2006 The Landscape and the Folktale - Iceland National Gallery
2006 Hin Blíðu Hraun - Hafnarborg Art Museum, Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
2006 God ́s Chosen People - Kling & Bang Gallery, Reykjavík
2008 Dreams of Sublime and Nowhere, in Icelandic Contemporary Art - Bozar, Brussels
2008 Dreams of Sublime and Nowhere, in Icelandic Contemporary Art - Reykjavík Art Museum
2008 Reflection - National Museum of Iceland
2010 Window Mirrors - Reykjanes Art Museum
2010 Reality Check - Reykjavík Arts Festival
2010 Vanitas - Still-life in Contemporary Icelandic Art - Reykjavik Art Museum
2011 Portrait Now - The National Historical Museum, Copenhagen
2011 Frontiers of Another Nature - Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, Germany
2013 Frontiers of Another Nature - Hippolyte Gallery Helsinki, Finland
2014 (Re)construction of friendship - Former KGB Headquarters Riga, Latvia
2014 At Twilight, exhibition of the Gallery collection - National Gallery of Iceland
2014 Pushing Reality - Grundemark Nilsson Gallery, Month of Photography Berlin
2015 Relooking – Gallery STARA - Warsaw Festival of Art Photography
2016 Lightpaint, The photo and the painting in our times. National Gallery of Iceland
2017 The Dazzling decade, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City.
2019 In Transition, Hafnarborg Hafnarfjörður Art museum
2019 Treasures of a nation, exhibition of the Gallery collection - National Gallery of Iceland
2020 Works from the collection- Hafnarborg Hafnarfjörður Art museum
2022 Staged Moments, work from the collection -National Gallery of Iceland
2023 Kaleidoscope Icelandic 21st Century art,- Reykjavik Art Museum
Books
1999 Bensin
2007 Location
2008 Chicken Fajitas in the Manner of Google, Mexican Corn soup and Chocolate Ice Cream
2018 111
2021 Spessi 1990-2020
Awards
1990 - The Icelandic photojournalist exhibition; first prize for portraits.
1991 - The Icelandic photojournalist exhibition; first prize - open category.
1997 - Artist ́s Stipend – The Icelandic State 6 months
2000 - Artist ́s Stipend – The Icelandic State 6 months
2004 - Artist ́s Stipend – The Icelandic State 3 months
2008 - Artist ́s Stipend – The Icelandic State 6 months
2011 - Artist ́s Stipend – The Icelandic State 6 months
2016 - Artist ́s Stipend – The Icelandic State 3 months
2017 - Artist ́s Stipend – The Icelandic State 3 months
2020 - Artist ́s Stipend – The Icelandic State 3 months
Work in collections
Iceland National Gallery
Reykjavík Art Museum
Ísafjörður Art Museum
Hafnarborg - Hafnarfjörður Art Museum Reykjanes Art Museum
The West Collection
Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park, Kansas
Safn collection, (Pétur Arason)
Skúli Gunnlaugsson collection