London-based Norwegian artist, Henrik Uldalen was the second artist to descend on The Granite City for this years Nuart Aberdeen festival, which due to covid restrictions has taken the form of a series of artist in residence projects.
It’s rare that Henrik works in public space, most of his time being dedicated to his studio practice, but with a background in graffiti, tackling outdoor walls is something he is also comfortable with. This will be his second mural with Nuart having joined us in Stavanger, his mother’s home town, back in 2016.
Henrik deals in figurative paintings, but they’re updated with a contemporary disposition. Dark, ethereal, sublime, otherworldly and other such words spring to mind on first viewing his mural. The piece has a hypnotizing and bewitching quality, and this seems to have become somewhat of a signature for Uldalen.
When asked about his work, Henrik said: “I have always thought of myself as a expressionist painter trapped in the body of a neoclassicist painter. In one moment I love splashing paint around the walls of my studio, the other moment I feel like painting an eye for five hours straight. Naturally I’ve found a middle ground where I get to work with both sides of me.”
Henrik Aarrestad Uldalen (1986) is a self-taught artist whose creative production revolves around classic figurative painting, presented in a contemporary manner. Henrik explores the dark sides of life, nihilism, existentialism, longing and loneliness, juxtaposed with fragile beauty. Though a figurative painter, his focus has always been the emotional content rather than narratives. The atmospheres in his work is often presented in a
dream or limbo-like state, with elements of surrealism.
Images by Clarke Joss : @clarkejossphotography
Henrik Uldalen: website | facebook | instagram
Nuart Aberdeen: website | facebook | instagram
