Þula art gallery: The thread that binds us together

By Heidi Kokborg | Photos: Alda Valentína Rós

At Þula art gallery they believe art has the power to create dialogue between different people and cultures; that it is the thread that connects us. Þula is a place for both emerging and established artists dedicated to their craftsmanship and art.

Located in the heart of Reykjavík, within the walls of the culture house, The Marshallhouse, you will find Þula (pronounced Thula), an art gallery dedicated to uplifting and celebrating both new and established voices in the art world. Ásdís Þula Þorláksdóttir founded the gallery in 2020, and in 2023 she merged her gallery with the renowned art gallery Hverfisgallerí. Today, the two galleries have become one, and it is a gallery not to be missed if you are visiting Iceland.

“I have always set out to create a welcoming space, no matter who you are. It is important that everyone feels welcome here. We celebrate people that are interested in art and it is vital that the community have access to spaces such as Þula. Seeing art should not be a privilege, I would like it to be something that is for everyone to experience. This knowledge should not be gatekept, and I believe it brings us to a better world,” says Þorláksdóttir, Owner and Founder of Þula.

Þula art gallery: The thread that binds us together

Kristín Morthens, There Is Air Under Water.

The invisible connection

After living in Toronto, London, and Los Angeles for seven years, Þorláksdóttir returned to her roots in Iceland. With a background in writing, acting and poetry, she had always been in the creative sphere, but it was not until her return to Iceland that she found her true calling: art.

“My father is a painter. My grandfather is a painter. My sister is a painter. My whole family is involved in the arts. I was working a bit with my father, and I realised how much I enjoy being around art and mediating it,” explains Þorláksdóttir.

Sunneva Ása Weisshappel, Installation view/

Not long after, she opened her art gallery Þula, and since then she has seen a whirlwind of events. She has been invited to several art fairs, worked with inspiring artists, and merged her gallery with Hverfisgallerí. But the vision has never changed: binding people and cultures together through art.

“I think that art has the power to create dialogue. It is this thread that pulls us together. We always seem so torn apart in opinions and politics, but in art we find the core values and the meaning of being human. The realm of arts – be it fine art, music, theatre, or writing – that is what unifies us,” Þorláksdóttir says and continues: “The mycelium of fungi connects all through the underground. That is kind of like our human hive mind. We are connected. Even though it sometimes feels like everything is individual and separated.”

Sunneva Ása Weisshappel, Masked.

Celebrating new voices and stories

Þula represents both emerging artists and well-established artists. Currently, all artists are Icelandic, but in the future, when the time is right, Þorláksdóttir sees her gallery becoming a part of the international art scene, with artists from other countries and cultures as she believes that will strengthen and deepen the dialogue she strives to keep alive.

When visiting Þula Gallery, you will experience many works of female artists. “It wasn’t the focus, but it happened organically. People have asked why there were a lot of female artists. Had it been mostly men I represented, it would have never been questioned. But here more than half are female, so people question it. Hopefully that will soon change and just become normal,” says Þorláksdóttir.

But it is not only female voices you will find when you visit Þula Gallery. You will find new artists with strong voices that need to be heard. “In the art world we are getting new voices, new stories, new points of views. LGBTIQA+, people of colour, women… We are finally celebrating and uplifting these voices. What a time to be alive, to see and live these new narratives that are being brought to us,” says Þorláksdóttir.

When you visit Þula on your next trip to Iceland, let your heart lead the way as you immerse yourself in the art. Because art is an experience. Art is not meant to be viewed with only our intellect; it is meant to be experienced with our heart centre. As Þorláksdóttir beautifully puts it:

“Art holds a meaning bigger than a concept we can vocalise.”