Gudrun Nielsen is an Icelandic sculptor, trained in Reykjavík and London
"She has been working professionally since 1989 and has made good as an artist in the world of British environmental sculpture, which boasts of a long tradition encompassing everything from figurative bronzes for public gardens to permanent site specific installations".........
"Gudrun aligns herself with the kind of three-dimensional art which might be called a modernist-based formalism with minimalist or constructivist overtones. The „Japan factor“ should be seen in the context of the second aspect of Gudrun´s „style“, her enduring interest in clear and concise forms and proportions, and in qualities such as lightness and harmony, in short, everything that contributes to the optimum balance of elements within the work at hand as well as the environment without. These are qualities traditionally associated with the Japanese attitude to mass and space, as seen in the work of their most prominent architects. A fundamental aspect of this attitude is a certain spareness with regard to materials, which is also something that Gudrun subscribes to".
Aðalsteinn Ingólfsson. UMHVERFI Í VERKI, VERK Í UMHVERFI / THE SITE WITHIN THE SITE WITHOUT
Reflection on the art of Gudrun Nielsen. "Menning og Listir" Frettabladid, Iceland p.8 and 9, 17.10.2009
Selected sculptures and drawing: Design Museum London - Wheel of Progress 1992 / Abbey House Gardens Malmesbury - Amigasamon 2007 / Gufunes Reykjavík - Obi 2008 / Greenham Business Park Newbury - Changes 2010 / Harold Martin Botanic Garden Leicester - Skylight 2009 - Obi V 2009 - Labyrinth 2010 - The Absent Belfry Shö-Rö 2011 / The Two Mounds of Daisen-In 2005 detail / Borrowed View 2012 Edsvik Kunsthall Sweden -
Gudrun uses geometrical forms in her sculptures often related to balance, movement and order. Her site specific sculpture “Wheel of Progress” designed for the Design Museum in London 1992 expresses this clearly, as well “Changes” 2010 the winning entry for the 1998 international "Greenham Common Sculpture Competition". This can also be seen in the monumental sculptures "Skylight" 2009, "Labyrinth" 2010 "the Absent Belfry Shö-Rö" 2011 exhibited in the Harold Martin Botanic Garden, University of Leicester. In her “Japanese Teahouse series” 2005 - 2012 Gudrun borrows well known forms, exhibits and performs where culture and customs are different.
