Aðalsteinn Þórsson was born 1964 in Akureyri, north Iceland. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at The School of Visual Arts in Akureyri in 1993 and got a MFA degree in autonomous art from The Dutch Art Institute, ArtEz, formerly AKI2 in the city of Enchede in the Netherlands in 1998.

Since then, Aðalsteinn has been a working artist. Initially based in the Netherlands but has lived in Iceland since 2016. He has been actively involved in exhibitions, holding solo exhibitions, participating in group shows and events, as well as being a curator. Aðalsteinn has also been active in the social affairs of cultural sector. His main project, however, is The Personal Collection, an environmental project that he operates in a oasis of vegetation in Eyjafjord, 10 km. south of Akureyri.