Ástríður J. Ólafsdóttir

She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna, earning a degree in 2013 with a thesis on psychological portraiture and the artist-model relationship, followed by a Master's in Visual Arts in 2016.

Ástríður blends Nordic cultural elements with Italian painting traditions, delving into the boundary between life and death, stillness and renewal. Since 2012, her distinctive visual language has led her to exhibit her work in numerous international galleries and exhibitions.

Her background in aerial silks—a discipline involving acrobatics performed while suspended from fabric—fuels her painting practice, inspiring her series Panneggio, which references classical drapery studies to examine movement and form. This series of paintings depicts veiled figures emerging from shadowy backgrounds, the soft folds of fabric tracing their forms, evoking both protection and mystery. Through deep blues, grays, and subtle chiaroscuro, she captures a suspended state between sleep and wakefulness, where the veil becomes a vessel of both concealment and regeneration.