KRISTJAN GUDMUNDSSON, Seamsea, 2003
each 14,8 x 21,2 x 0,4 cm
6 books, ring-bound
stiff hand stitched cards pages, letterpress on cardboard cover
complete set of 6 in pencil hand numbered copies, 6 inlays with colophon
title in six languages; hence 6 books
edition 250 mint
published by Silver Press Reykjavík, Iceland
inv.KG 019-pr
Kristján Gudmundsson makes conceptual art not only related to ideas on the potentials of materials, lines, space and time, but also quite often related to nature. He makes sculptures of e.g. paper rolls combined with solid graphite and calls these drawings. Among other works he makes books with e.g. pages full of lines until he has catched the distance “Once around the sun”. Like many concept artists, he visualizes the intangible in a simple description, an emblem or a concrete object like a book. KvG, August 2014.
In “Seamsea” the artist has made drawings of emblematic sea waves on thick cardboard pages. It comes in a set of six books with the title in six different languages: English, Icelandic, Dutch, French, Norwegian and Chinese, i.e. Seamsea, Saumasjór, Zoomzee, Mercouture, Sømsjø and [Chinese characters]. Each book contains three drawings that are made of blue yarn; machine sewn on each page. Due to the hard labour to make these hand made books no more than 100 sets have been produced until now. All mint copies.
KRISTJÁN GUDMUNDSSON, Drawing, 1989
38 x 18 x 4 cm
solid graphite, paper
signed, numbered, dated
edition of 12
very rare
Galerie van Gelder Editions, Amsterdam, Netherlands
€ 4.800,-
KRISTJAN GUDMUNDSSON, Cause and Consequence, 1976
23 x 17 x 2 cm, 3 parts
Tipp-Ex correction paper on coloured paper, original framing
edition 10
published by the artist, Amsterdam
Kristján Gudmundsson likes to see ‘the snake biting in its tail’ one could say. He is fascinated by closed logics after a simple work concept has been set. In Cause and Consequence (1976) he divided a square in three equal parts by drawing two horizontal lines. Then he decided to draw one line vertically, resulting in a correction paper transfer of six equal parts. In this first stage the effect is two lines and one broken line. On the second and third sheet of paper he did the same, yet in a different order. As a consequence the visual effect varies. Within the parameters of the concept all possible variations come to an end. KvG
In 1977 this work was for the first time shown in ‘Ça va, ça va’ in Centre George Pompidou, Paris, France. Three Icelandic artists Hreinn Fridfinnsson, Kristján Gudmundsson and his brother Sigurdur Gudmundsson showed together their works in ‘Les Galeries’ on the ground floor of the museum.
KRISTJAN GUDMUNDSSON, Once around the sun; Volume I and II, 1975
each 26,3 x 26,7 x 6 cm
offset, SC, book object, 2 volumes hand bound by the artist, 1st edition only ca 6-8 copies came into production signed, numbered / extremely rare
published by Silver Press, Reykjavik / Amsterdam
Collection Kees van Gelder, Amsterdam
€ 10.000,- plus courier costs, Margin Scheme
inv.KG 000-pr
This edition consists of two volumes that is hand bound (Lümbeck method) by Kristján Gudmundsson while he was living in Daniel Stalpertstraat, Amsterdam during the seventies. One book object contains parallel horizontal lines on each page. The second volume contains hundreds of full stops on each page. Both books are three times thicker than the reprinted version by Ottenhausen Verlag in 1982. The front page states that each line is equal to seconds, id est all lines together represent the total amount of 29,771 meters it takes for the earth to once orbit around the sun; equal to one year.
In 1976 the artist made volume II making use of the notion ‘time’ using dots instead of lines to visualize the length of the orbit around the sun. The front page states that each point is equal to a second. All points together represent the amount of seconds it takes for the earth to once orbit around the sun.
The production of this self published book by Silver Press – owned by the artist – was very laborious and definitely no more than 6 – 8 copies were made, i.e. oppositie to the hand bound and ‘1st edition of 50 copies’ that is mentioned on the website of bookshop Boekie Woekie. In the seventies, on a regular basis I visited Kristjan’s house in Daniel Stalpertstraat in Amsterdam being confronted with how slowly the production of these copies were made.
In 1982 Ottenhausen Verlag in Aachen / Munich, Germany, took over the project and published 100 copies which were remarkably less voluminous than the original book object hand made by the artist. With the reprint the width of the spine of each volume is shrunken to almost half of its size, making the work less sculptural than the original.
Deutsche Sprache
Volumen I: Den Zeitraum, den der Planet Erde zur Umrundung der Sonne benötigt, nennt man ein Jahr. Das Kalenderjahr (tropisches Jahr) hat 365 Tage 5 Stunden 48 Minuten und 45,98 Sekunden = 31 556 926 Sekunden.Jeder Punkt in Band I entspricht einer Sekunde. Volumen II: Die Wegstrecke, die der Planet Erde in einer Sekunde zurücklegt, beträgt 29 771 Meter (Mittelwert). Die Linien in Band II entsprechen in ihrer Gesamtlänge dieser Wegstrecke.
2 Bände (724/720 Seiten)
This book is a by Kristjan Gudmundsson hand made object while he was living in Daniel Stalpertstraat, Amsterdam during the seventies. The book object contains hundreds of full stops on each page and is three times thicker than the reprinted version by Ottenhausen Verlag in 1982. The front page states that each point is equal to a second. All points together represent the amount of seconds it takes for the earth to once orbit around the sun. In 1976 the artist made volume II making use of the notion ‘space’ using lines instead of full stops to visualize the orbit of the earth around the sun in length.
Additional information
KRISTJAN GUDMUNDSSON, Once around the sun, 1982
each 27,6 x 27 x 3,5 cm
offset, two books in slipcase not signed, not numbered (as published)
edition 100
SC, book, 2nd ed.
published by Ottenhausen Verlag, Aachen / München 1982
History of prices:
Antiquariat Uebue, Zurich, Switzerland GBP 3.342,55 July 2025 – 2nd edition, unsigned as issued
Boekie Woekie Amsterdam € 4.000,00 March 2024 (2nd edition, set with water damage ‘…quite badly stained’)
Antiquariat Uebue, Zurich, Switzerland, December 2024 € 4.217,56 – 2nd edition, unsigned as issued
Antiquariat Uebue, Zurich, Switzerland, June 2022 US$ 4,101.88 – 2nd edition, unsigned as issued
Boekie Woekie Amsterdam € 4.000,00 February 2022 (2nd edition, set with water damage)
Boekie Woekie, Amsterdam € 1.600,00 November 2012 – 2nd edition, unsigned as issued
KRISTJAN GUDMUNDSSON, Orsök og Afleiðing [Cause and Consequence], 1974
32,5 x 33,3 cm (12,5 x 21,5)
Tipp-Ex correction paper on coloured paper, original frame vintage edition
edition 10, here number 1/10
numbered, dated and framed behind acrylic glass by the artist in 1974 personal signature: Til Þoru og Kees, frá Kidda og Mísu’
published by the artist, Amsterdam
p.o.r., Margin Scheme
In the seventies corrections on the typemachine could be made with the help of prefabricated paper correction strips of Tipp-Ex. Kristján Gudmundsson used these strips couvered with a film of chalk to make drawings. He told me that he was intrigued by the fact that the result of the zigzagging lines he drew could not be detected on the strip from which he drew the lines with a ruler. He said: ‘The strip doesn’t have any memory of how they were drawn’, i.e. on the coloured paper in both a parallel and diagonal way, as shown above. Hence the title.
This copy is the very first one out of an edition of ten. As soon as the first one was ready and framed it was given to us as a gift in Daniel Stalpertstraat in Amsterdam, a place we frequently visited in the early seventies. KvG
History of price:
Galleri i8, Reyjavík, Iceland November 2021 € 3.800,- (edition behind acrylic glass frame)
KRISTJAN GUDMUNDSSON, Shipwreck, 1973 – 1974
29,5 x 22,5 cm
offset on tracing paper, folded as issued
signed, dated, numbered
edition 20
published by the artist
condition: splendid, although aged semi-translucent tracing paper
Private collection
€ 3.500,- plus € 18,- Track & Trace registered EU mail
inv.KG 000-pr
Kristjan Gudmundsson installed the print ‘Shipwreck’ behind a glass plate for the first time in Galerie van Gelder in Amsterdam in the late eighties. Originally in the seventies it used to be an object in a wooden box; a paper folded boat lying on its side at the bottom of the box. Now the paper sculpture is conserved in a wooden frame with a signature in capital letters.
In 1974 Kristjan Gudmundsson went to Drukkerij Andersen in Amsterdam that forwarded the order to Drukkerij Van der Stolk also in Amsterdam (Ruyschdaelkade). At that time Kees van Gelder was the only employee in this offset printer’s firm by which he had to print this order on tracing paper.
KRISTJÁN GUDMUNDSSON, Circles, 1973
20,7 x 20,7 cm
artist’s book, 3 pp., cardboard covers
limited edition 500
published by Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
excellent condition
€ 125,- plus € 12,- registered mail
inv.KG 654
The first page in the book ‘Circles’ of Kristján Gudmundsson is made of thin paper, the next page is of a heavier kind and the third page is the thickest. On each page circles in water are depicted that were caused by a stone thrown into the water. As is stated in the book the weight of each thrown stone is equal to the weight of each individual page. The result of the consequently different circles are depicted on each page. Definitively a sculptural book.
History of prices:
Art Book, Stadskanaal, Netherlands December 2024 € 110,-
FTN Books, The Hague, Netherlands April 2024 € 140,-
KRISTJÁN GUDMUNDSSON, invitation / announcement Galerie 845, 1972
27,7 x 21,9 cm
printed paper
typeset and published by the artist
pinholes and small tears
extremely rare invitation, folded as mailed
€ 740,-
KRISTJAN GUDMUNDSSON, Nidur / Down, 1972
26,4 x 27,2 x 2,2 cm
offset, SC, book object, hand bound by the artist
edition 150, of which very few handmade by the artist signed, numbered
condition: excellent, although aged, some traces of use on couver extremely rare
published by Silver Press, Reykjavik / Amsterdam, 1972
Collection Kees van Gelder, Amsterdam
p.o.r.
inv.KG 000-pr
‘Nidur / Down’ is an object book a hand bound by Kristjan Gudmundsson who produced several of these books in Daniel Stalpertstraat, Amsterdam, in the seventies. It is a book about the ‘Highest point of land’ and the ‘Lowest point of sea’ containing many parallel horizontal lines on each page. The total amount of lines are equal to the distance of the highest point on earth and the deepest point in sea.
The production of this self published book by Silver Press – a publishing house founded by the artist – was very laborious and no more than ‘circa 30-50’ [sic] copies were hand bound, as stated by the artist. (Probably much less have been made). In 1982 Ottenhausen Verlag in Aachen / Munich, Germany, took over the project and published a limited edition of 100 copies. KvG
History of price:
Zwiggelaar Auctions, Amsterdam 8 December 2023 € 2.600,- (hammer price)
Lesbian Dream Press, 1971
ca 24,5 x 17 cm
12 pp.
paper collage, typed written texts on cover; recto and verso, book block of empty pages
dummy for issue # 6
published by Jón Gunnar Árnason, Reykjavik, Iceland
inv.SG 000-pr
This issue number 6 was handed out to Sigurdur Gudmundsson with machine types instructions on the back of the cover on how to participate with a contribution to the magazine. A handwritten text reads: Þessi bók er fyrir Sig Gu∂mundson (trans. ‘This book is for Sig Gudmundsson’).
