Sep 30 - Karl James Ullger Exhibition At Space 92
SPACE 92 continues to honour its commitment to discover and promote Gibraltarian artists with a new exhibition ‘RAW’ by Karl James Ullger. Raw will be the second exhibition held by Gibraltar Productions Ltd.
Karl James Ullger was born in Gibraltar, 1982 and he studied BA Hons Graphic Design at Leeds University. Here he experimented using various mediums and genres, such as photography, product design, marketing, role play, video art, animation and, of course, Fine Arts.
Despite being offered a PR position at a local Leeds graphic design company, Karl decided to come back to his roots and study Art & Design at a P.G.C.E teaching level. Here Karl was able to transfer his skills into his now current job as a secondary school teacher whilst exhibiting paintings whenever the occasion arose.
As a teacher, Karl has always tried to lead by example by winning several awards in his artistic career. One of his biggest achievements to date was awarded by a very prestigious RA member, Mick Moon and, in 2009, he also earned a very acclaimed 1st prize in the Gibraltar Spring Art Festival, as well as a 2nd prize in the prestigious International Open Art Exhibition.
In May this year, Karl got accepted into 247th Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, one of the oldest art competitions in the world, with his artwork done on metal entitled 'Bayview Clock Tower' which was included in this year’s summer exhibition. Following the footsteps of Gustavo Bacarias, it is believed that Karl is only the second Gibraltarian to enter in this exhibition in the last 100 years.
His artistic style has been described as being of an expressionistic nature but what the artist himself safely says is that his style has changed and developed throughout the course of the last five years.
'RAW' is a natural and fortuitous progression from the artist’s last 2014 pyrography wood burning series. His work is all about metal, resin, varnishes, gold leaves.
The canvas used by Karl James Ullger is a seemingly ordinary, every day use material which then transforms itself into potential artwork. The artwork itself is not the stereotypical tourist-esque chocolate box view. They are ambiguous and inconspicuous captions from local landscapes or from his travels. At times they relate to the places where the materials or canvas were found.
Some of the pieces on show are also “aesthetical conceptualisations” of passing ideas in the form of sculptures or paintings. Some may even be social statements, like the obtrusive ‘Scarred’ or the imposing monumental piece ‘Unmade Bed’.
What can truly be said is that they all reflect and mirror the word ‘RAW’, whether visually or conceptually.
The artist invites to the audience to take them as they are seen, to read them as they feel and to digest them like meat on a burning stone!
The exhibition will start on the 8th of October 2015, ans will be open to the public from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, at 92 Irish Town. For further information, please contact at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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