Melanie Ubaldo Iceland / Philippines, b. 1992
is an Icelandic artist based in Reykjavík. Her practice explores unbelonging and intersectional identity through vulnerable autobiographical narratives that address racism, prejudice, power, and discrimination. Working across painting, installation, and large-scale spatial interventions, Ubaldo weaves together themes of memory, displacement, poverty, immigration, and identity. Her works often carry monumental presence while simultaneously embodying a fragile and precarious quality that mirrors their subject matter.
Alongside her solo practice, Ubaldo is co-founder of Lucky 3, a collective of Icelandic artists of Filipino descent, which creates collaborative projects around diasporic experience and cultural hybridity. She holds a BA (2016) and an MA (2022) in Fine Arts from the Iceland University of the Arts, including an exchange year at Universität der Künste Berlin.
Ubaldo’s works have been exhibited widely in Iceland and internationally, with solo shows at the Akureyri Art Museum, Ásmundarsalur Reykjavík, Gallery Gudmundsdottir Berlin, and Þula Reykjavík, among others. She has participated in major group exhibitions at the National Gallery of Iceland, the Reykjavík Art Museum, the Living Art Museum, and internationally in Argentina, Mexico, Germany, and the USA. She is the recipient of multiple grants and awards, including the Icelandic Art Prize Motivational Award (2022, with Lucky 3) and residencies such as the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York (2025).
