Baldvin Ringsted

Born in Akureyri, Northern Iceland, in 1974, Baldvin Ringsted has developed an artistic language at the intersection of sound and image. Shaped by a youth immersed in the DIY punk and metal scene, he… Read more

Bio Exhibitions Interview

Background Information about Baldvin Ringsted

Introduction

Born in Akureyri, Northern Iceland, in 1974, Baldvin Ringsted has developed an artistic language at the intersection of sound and image. Shaped by a youth immersed in the DIY punk and metal scene, he began early on to translate sound into visuals—album covers into memory objects, audio into visual energy. At the same time, Iceland’s rugged landscape lingers as a grounding counterpoint—adding structure and seriousness to his work. This dynamic tension still defines his art: paintings, collages, sculptures, and installations that weave together sound, memory, and pop culture.

A central theme is auditory memory: how sound embeds itself in us, evokes images, and how those images open sonic spaces. Ringsted renders this experience into a visual language that is both structured and open. While his works follow precise sketches, the process leaves room for interference and improvisation—like a musical composition that is orchestrated but never over-controlled.

His paintings often draw on nostalgic landscape prints—decorative finds from the 1970s, which he reactivates with new meaning: reworked, painted over, cut up, or infused with new patterns. Landscape becomes more than scenery—it becomes a resonant space, echoing memories, pop culture, and personal as well as collective history.

His mixed-media works thrive on contrast: ornamental motifs meet traditional landscape; chance encounters meet precision painting; punk attitude meets artisanal finesse. The results are pieces that at first glance are aesthetically compelling, but on second glance reveal deeper layers—a dialogue between surface and significance.

A graduate of the Glasgow School of Art (MFA 2007), Ringsted lives and works in Scotland. His work has been exhibited internationally—in New York, London, Glasgow, and at the Akureyri Museum of Art. In 2025, he took part in the Royal Academy Summer Shows and received honors at the Scottish Landscape Awards.

His practice moves between memory and transformation, echo and image. Baldvin Ringsted creates art that is meant to be seen, heard, felt, and remembered—a bridge between sound and vision, between past and present.

Bio

Baldvin Ringsted was born in Akureyri, Iceland, in 1974. Influenced by his musical youth in rural Iceland and the punk and metal scene, he began exploring sound as a means of artistic expression at an early age. In 2007, he completed his master's degree at the Glasgow School of Art. In his works, Ringsted transforms sound into visual art, creating paintings, collages, installations, and sculptures that blend sensory impressions. Ringsted lives and works in Glasgow, United Kingdom.

Awards

2025 Scottish Landscape Awards (2nd place. Recipiant of Robert Haldane Grant)

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions

2023 Random Access Memory, Stallan-Brand, Glasgow

2020 Rhythm Distortions, SWG3 Gallery, Glasgow

2016 The Decline of Western Civilisation, The Hidden Noise Gallery-for Glasgow International

2016 Bárujársárin, Akureyri Museum of Art

2012 Baldvin Ringsted, New work, MYU gallery, Glasgow

2012 In Praise of The Morning Star, Arch One, Glasgow

2010 B.P.M., Martos Gallery, Chelsea New York

2010 Low Growl, SWG3 (Glasgow International)

Group Exhibitions

2025 Royal Academy Summer Show

2025 Crown Court Gallery, London

2025 Rise Art & Glenfiddich Whiskey Exhibition, London

2024 Royal Academy Summer Show

2024 Process, Edinburgh

2023 Afmæli, Akureyri Museum of Art, Iceland

2019 VOR, Akureyri Museum of Art, Iceland

2018 Artists who make music Musicians who make art, QPRC, Glasgow

2016 Oscilloscope, Old Hairdressers, Glasgow

2014 Voidoid Archive space (Glasgow International)

2012 Global-Lokal, Akureyri Museum of Art

2012 Sublime(screening), Inverness

2010 Mixtapes: Popular Music in Contemporary Art, Glucksman Gallery, Cork, Ireland

2010 Oops Apocalypse, Occupy Space, Limerick Ireland

2010 Meet me at the bottom of the pool, Martos Gallery, New York

Interview

1. Picasso once said, “You don’t make art, you find it.” Where do you find your

art?

I believe art is a language, a form of communication. My artwork is an attempt to remix and reflect on lived experiences. Nostalgia plays a large role in my work. My artwork tends to be informed by the style, music and art from my childhood and teenage years.

2. From idea to realization: How do you approach your work?

After I have done the research and sketch phase of a new piece of work, I map out precisely, the steps I need to take from start to finish. I do not leave much to chance, I sometimes envy artist who approach a new work (an empty canvas) without knowing the end result, but that does not work for me at all, I need to be in control at least most of the time in the art making process.

3. Your favorite book?

I like all kinds of literature, from Murakami to Stephen King. I borrow titles for my paintings from sci-fi short stories and novels. For the difficult choice of a favourite book, I pick The Tin Drum by Günter Grass, just because it used to be my absolute favourite many years ago and I have been planning to read it again.

4. How did you come to art?

My introduction into the arts came through music. As a teenager I was a part of a DIY punk/metal scene in my little hometown in Iceland. The transition from music to "fine art" seemed like a natural progression as I have always felt the need to communicate through making.

My lifelong relationship music, both as a mucician and a listener, particularly during my formative years in the Icelandic north, profoundly shaped my artistic perspective. Music permeated every aspect of life – social interaction, creativity, and communication. As I began to engage with visual art, it felt natural to use music as a primary point of reference.

5. Which people in your environment influence you?

I work quite a lot with and for other artist, I feel it always benefits my own practice and approach to work on other people’s artworks and presentations. I am also very much influenced by exhibitions and gigs and listening to artists and musicians talk about their process.

6. Imagine you had a time machine. Where would the journey take you?

If I had a time machine, with a guaranteed return ticket to the present (I'm quite content here!), I'd definitely use it for a sneak peek. My first stops would be the studios and early exhibitions of countless artists, from Michelangelo to Gauguin to Warhol. In a similar vein, I'd love to catch some early gigs of bands and musicians from the '60s to the '80s, especially in the rock and heavy metal genres.

7. Your greatest passion besides art?

Music and family.

8. What are you currently working on?

I am fortunate enough to get asked to make bespoke artwork from time to time, both for commercial spaces as well as private. I am currently working on two commissions but mostly starting to make plan for a large solo exhibition in Iceland 2026.

9. A question you ask yourself and would like to answer for LUMAS collectors –

something you would like to share.

I've been thinking a lot about how all these AI-generated images and ideas are going to affect the art world. My gut feeling is that 'human-made' art, the kind dreamt up and created by actual people, will actually become even more special and valuable now that we have so much AI-generated stuff out there.