Henrik Uldalen

Henrik Aa. Uldalen  (b. 1986, South Korea) was raised in Norway and spent time in Barcelona, Florence and Mexico City before moving to England in 2015. Uldalen is a self-taught expressionist artist. Developing his style and technique for over 12 years, his creative production combines contemporary edge through abstract impasto with the traditional, through classic, figurative painting. 

Uldalen examines the darker sides of life, yet this nihilism, longing and loneliness are juxtaposed by a fragile beauty in his works. The artist’s practice is self-reflexive such that painting helps Uldalen to better understand himself, expressing, “I paint because I need to paint. I have always had things in my life that I need to work out, and I’ve found that the best way is to take it out in the studio.” In turn, his works are conceived as self-portraits projected onto models. The pieces themselves are not overtly narrative; rather, he invites the viewer to build their own, perhaps through introspection. 

Uldalen chooses to focus instead on emotional and metaphysical content through his figuration. A prevailing motif of eyes that are covered, shut, and smudged, for example, is symbolic of struggle and inner turmoil. Yet at the same time, Uldalen conveys a beautiful sense of corporeality and physicality through his figures. The result: pieces that truly express body and soul.

As part of his daily routine, Uldalen begins with a brief sketch to catalyse his artistic endeavour. The artist has described the creation of his work taking place with "no limitations,” simply “pure expression.” Uldalen’s striking application of paint creates dream or limbo-like, surrealist atmospheres which add a poignancy to his canvases. 

Uldalen has been exhibited globally with recent solo shows in cities such as Seoul, New York, London, Oslo, Los Angeles, and Skagen. The existentialist nature of Uldalen’s emotive, moody, naturalistic paintings feels like a breath of fresh air in a contemporary art world that so often showcases abstraction and conceptualism.