Guğmundur Thoroddsen is originally from Reykjavik, Iceland, and after studies in Europe and New York has returned there to live and work. Thoroddsen's work questions the intersection of patriarchy, masculinity, ancestry, and symbols and religious idols from ancient history, with an emphasis on combining the sacred with the profane. He uses a variety of materials, including ink on paper, carved and painted wood, marble, excrement, and gold leaf.

Thoroddsen completed his MFA at the School of Visual Arts in New York. He has been included in exhibitions at the Reykjavik Art Museum, Reykjavik, DODGE Gallery, New York, the Kling and Bang Gallery, Reykjavik, Danziger Gallery, Berlin, and SiTE:LAB's ArtPrize show, Grand Rapids, Michigan. His 2012 solo exhibition at Asya Geisberg Gallery received press from Time Out New York, The Brooklyn Rail, Hyperallergic, and Artforum.com. His work appears in the 2011 publication "Icelandic Art History from late 19th Century to Early 21st Century", as well as the New Museum's "Younger Than Jesus: Artist Directory" published in 2009.