About Óskar Guðmundsson

I was born in Reykjavík in 1965 and have been interested in art from an early age. From 1975 to 1981, I studied at The Icelandic College of Art and Crafts. My work has since developed in various directions and through different media, rather than following any single artistic style.

In 1989, I moved to Germany, where I trained as an optician until 1993. In 1994, I held a joint exhibition with photographer Nína Hlöðversdóttir at Sólon Íslandus, where she exhibited photographs featuring handmade eyeglass frames that I had designed and made.

In recent years, an old dream of mine came true when I began writing. My first crime novel, Hilma, was published in 2015 and received the Blood Drop award for Best Icelandic Crime Novel of the Year. It was also nominated for the Glass Key, the Nordic Crime Novel of the Year award. I have since published five crime novels: Hilma, Blóðengill, Boðorðin, Dansarinn and Brúðumeistarinn, and I am currently working on my sixth.

My visual art has always been an integral part of my creative life. I have held seven solo exhibitions. My most recent exhibition was held at Bankahvelfingin in Garðatorg in May 2026, where all the works in the exhibition were sold.