There were many people at the opening of a painting exhibition in Boðan, Hrafnista Boðaþing, this week when the artist Steinthór Marinó Gunnarsson opened the door to his brand new art exhibition. Steinthór was born in Ísafjörður on July 18, 1925 and therefore captures his 100th birthday today.
The forces of nature are a major influence in Steinthór's artistic creation. It is clear that his respect and admiration for natural forces can be attributed to his childhood when he describes a childhood memory of his time in the countryside, a small puddle on skin shoes that looked after sheep and the experience of walking alone after sheep on criss-crossed wet cliff edges.
Steinthór is a trained master painter and worked in this alongside art. He has throughout the years gone on study trips related to art in many parts of the world, participated in numerous group exhibitions, held dozens of solo exhibitions in Iceland and also in Norway and Denmark.
The presidential couple, Halla Tómasdóttir and Björn Skúlason were among the exhibition guests at the opening and gave Steinthór a birthday greeting on the occasion of the centenary.
