“Hanna´s work leads you into a magical world filled with intriguing colours and shapes. The material selection and the handling of material is unique and characteristic. She uses her own curiosity, ideas and intuition and does not follow the styles, trends or tastes of others. This makes her pieces look like nothing else and her mind shows through in every move. Her style has a certain roughness but at the same time so much softness. These contrasts and unexpected moments result in the works being constantly surprising. Hanna Dís does not always follow the rules and thus manages to create new methods, new aesthetics and new worlds.” - Rúna Thors
Contact: studio@hannawhitehead.com
Hanna Dís Whitehead graduated Cum Laude from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2011.She focuses on a hands-on approach, working in a very personal way, interweaving story, shape, materials and colour.
Hanna works on the borders of art, design and craft often going between diverse materials within the same subject. She is very interested in the dialog between objects and the viewer. In the studio she uses multiple craft techniques such as rug tufting, hand-building, extruding & casting ceramics, wood furniture making, weaving, felting and most recently straw marquetry. Always looking for new ways to shape and give life to materials.
Recently she has started to focus on local materials growing around her studio in the South East of Iceland, Hornafjordur, a quite remote area around 500 km away from the capital Reykjavík. Hornafjordur has around 2000 inhabitants and is surrounded by mountains and the Vatnajökull glacier. It used to be one of the most isolated areas in Iceland.
Her work has been featured for example on Sight Unseen, AD Collector, Damn magazine, Frameweb, Dezeen, Elle decor web, Milk decoration, Core magazine, Herdes magazine, Grapevine magazine, Wallpaper online, Vogue, Vogue Skandinavia, The nordic style mag, Design diffusion magazine, Gray magazine, Designmilk, Say Hi to, Oak the nordic journal & Another Magazine.
Hanna´s work is in the collection of The Icelandic museum of design and applied arts & Svavarssafn Art museum.
Selection of recent publications here!
Contact: studio@hannawhitehead.com
Work available through:
Unique works
Studio in Höfn open by appointment only :)
Gallery Port - Artist run space. Reykjavík
Listval - Art Consultancy, Reykjavík
Smaller ceramics and other things available:
Studio Hanna Whitehead webshop
Also in Reykjavík art museum shop- Hafnarhús, Reykjavík art museum shop- Ásmundarsafn, Icelandic Design museum, Gerðarsafn museum - Kópavogur & Kiosk Grandi.
Selection of exhibitions
2024
Connecting dots, Otto, Hornafjörður, solo exhibition.
Curated by FLD, Spinneriet, Gothenburg, Sweden group exhibition.
Attributes 2, Stúkusalur, part of art festival Umhverfing 5, Höfn.
Hæ/hiVol III, Railspur gallery, Seattle, USA
Hæ/Hi Vol III, Icelandic Embassy-3 days of design, Copenhagen, Danmark, group exhibition.
Attributes, Mosfellsssbær Gallery,Mosfellsbær, Solo exhibition.
Echo, Rammagerðin flag ship store, with Petit Art Prints.
Hæ/HI: Vol III, Landsbankahúsið, Group exhibition.
Stockholm furniture fair- Greenhouse, Stockholm.
2023
Under/Over, Ottó, Höfn, Solo exhibition
Jólagestir Gallery Port, Gallerý Port, group exhibition
Hæ/Hi, Home Team Gallery, Seattle, USA
Hæ/Hi, Ásmundarsalur, group exhibition.
Margt smátt, Harbinger project space, Group exhibition
Gentle Glow, Gallery Port, Solo exhibition
2022
Jólagestir Gallery Port, Gallery Port, group exhibition
Untitled, Embassy of Iceland in Helsinki, solo exhibition
HÆ/HI, Bianco Gallery, Seattle-USA, group exhibition
Continued, Ottó, Hornafjordur, Solo exhibition
Spin, Gerðarsafn art museum, Kópavogur - Solo exhibition
Hæ/Hi, Stak event space, Reykjavík -group exhibition
Another house, Ásmundarsalur Gallery, Reykjavík
2021
Fimm pottþétt í fötum, Gallery Port, Reykjavík
Stance - linear narratives, Berg Contemporary Gallery, Reykjavík
Transition, The Nordic House, Reykjavík - solo exhibition
Point of view, Harbinger project space, Reykjavík
Hönnun í anda Ásmundar, Reykjavík Art museum- Ásmundarsafn, Reykjavík
2020
Claying with type with Guðmundur Úlfarsson, Gallery Port, Reykjavík
2019
Crossovers by Adorno, Old Truman brewery, London design fair, London
Senseware -group exhibition. Ivana Helskinki house. Helsinki design week
Vicious Circle vol 02 with Raili Keiv, Reykjavík art museum- Kjarvalsstaðir, Designmarch, Reykjavík,
Now Nordic by Adorno, Reykjavík art museum-Hafnarhús, Designmarch, Reykjavík,
2018
Now Nordic by Adorno, Old Truman Brewery, London design fair, London
Now Nordic by Adorno, Den frie centre of contemporary art, Chart art fair, Copenhagen
Now Nordic by Adorno, Old Truman Brewery, London design fair, London
Another Dialog , solo show. The Culture house, Hverfisgata, Designmarch, Reykjavík
Illikambur with fashion label Milla Snorrason, Harbinger project space, Designmarch, Reykjavík.
2017
Fact based myth with Norwegian artist Mia Melvær. Icelandic design center, Reykjavík.
2016
Viscious Circle with Raili Keiv. Estonian museum of applied art and design, Tallinn, Estonia.
Weaving DNA, Lighthouse-Scotland´s center for design and architecture, Glasgow, Scotland. With Claire Anderson.
Weaving DNA-Esja, Designmarch,Hverfisgallerí, Reykjavík, Iceland. With Claire Anderson
2015
Magic language///Whispering game, Revelations- fine art fair, Paris, France. Curated group exhibition.
Weaving DNA-the tribe, National Museum of Iceland, Reykjavík,. With Claire Anderson
Glazed Dialog,Designmarch, Hannesarholt, Reykjavík, Iceland. Solo exhibition
WE LIVE HERE, Stockholm design week, Stockholm, Sweden. Curated group exhibition
2014
European Ceramic context-New talent, Bornholm, Danmark
Forest forest/Metsa Meiniki, Salakaupa, Helsinki, Finland Group exhibition
Past in present, Hannesarholt, Reykjavík, Iceland. Solo exhibition
Teaser- with Attikatti, Spark design Space, Reykjavík, Iceland
2012
Dialog, Spark design space, Reykjavík, Iceland Solo exhibition