Overview

Since the 1990s world-renowned interdisciplinary artist Jónsi has produced ethereal sounds through an astute aesthetic that combines the minimal, classical and the progressive. Jónsi initially gained international recognition as the lead vocalist for the Icelandic experimental rock band Sigur Rós, whose unique sounds have been equated with the sublime. Jónsi’s unequivocal vocal and instrumental approach have expanded the boundaries of musical genres, rendering him one of the leading musical artists of our time.

Outside of Sigur Rós, Jónsi has cultivated a latticework of other interconnected music projects, inclusive of solo works and collaborations. In 2009 he and partner Alex Somers released the landmark ambient album Riceboy Sleeps, which they followed up in 2019 with Lost & Found. In 2018 Jónsi, Alex Somers, and Paul Corley formed Liminal, whose ambient soundbath events have been hosted at art spaces across the world to high critical praise. In 2019 he formed the musical duo Dark Morph with Swedish composer Carl Michael von Hausswolf.

Works
Biography
Over the past two decades Jónsi has collaborated with musicians, visual artists, and filmmakers to create a robust body of work across disciplines. Working with such leading creative figures as Doug Aitken, Cameron Crowe, Merce Cunningham, Olafur Eliasson and Carl Michael von Hausswolf, Jónsi’s artistic collaborations have resulted in prestigious awards and critical acclaim. In addition to his Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song, Jónsi is the winner of the 2015 Annie awards for Outstanding Achievement in Music in an Animated Feature Production for his work on How to Train Your Dragon 2, and the winner of the 2012 BMI Film Music Award for his score of We Bought A Zoo. In 2014 Jónsi and Sigur Rós appeared on an episode of the acclaimed television series Game of Thrones.

 

In 2018, Jónsi contributed an original song titled Revelation to the soundtrack of Joel Edgerton's successful film Boy Erased, for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe and the Awards Circuit Community Awards. He is the composer of the score of Cameron Crowe’s 2012 film We Bought a Zoo, and musical contributor to the films How to Train Your Dragon (2010) and How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014), and Vanilla Sky (2001).

Jónsi has had solo exhibitions at the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Tasmania; the National Nordic Museum, Seattle; and the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto.

Born in Iceland in 1975, Jón Þór "Jónsi” Birgisson, lives and works in Los Angeles.
Exhibitions
Publications