We’re looking beyond the artwork and into the artist studio. They are often seen as mysterious creative hubs of liberation and creative endeavor but we want to go inside and uncover the environment in which they work into unwrap the mystery and speak to the artists. Discover tips on how to be inspired find their ‘flow state’ and uncover what the studio means to each artist and how it influences their practice. For the fourth edition we’re delighted to speak with the incredible Henrik Uldalen.
It’s my absolute pleasure. I thing I’ve always been meant to be an artist but it didn’t always look like that. I grew up completely obsessed with drawing and painting but as any child never considered it as a profession. It quickly became part of my identity in early school days as I was and shy kid not exceeding in many other things. When I started high school and they spliced quite a few local schools I realized I was actually just average at best. I decided to not pursue art from that point on. I started studying to become an art teacher in order to work with arts but also make a living. Here whilst studying I was upon oil paint for the first time and realized I was able to control this medium much better than any other medium I’ve the prior to this. I could finally express myself freely. This is the moment I chose to become an artist. It’s like I found my language for the first time. All the things I’ve had inside could suddenly me and flow freely.
Your work seems to revolve around classical figurative painting but presented in a contemporary manner. Can you tell us about your painting process in how you’re able to achieve this and such a perfect balance of both
I was always attracted to classical representational painting in my early days of painting because I needed beauty in my life. I never understood conceptual art and to any form of traditional learning made me turn my head more often than not in face with modern art. It took years of classical painting until I one day were just so damn bored with painting and traditional beauty that I turned to conceptual art. I read up looked more thoroughly saw it’s impact on society and myself and found that I’ve been missing out on so much in art and life by immediately brushing it off. I went from a purist to someone who believes anything that moves you can be meaningful art. I’m still not at my end goal and probably never will but my plans for my art far exceeds were I’m currently at. It’s a long life and I hope into it all.
With the characters you paint; they seem to be in state of limbo existence, present yet somewhat from reality. What is the relationship between you and your subjects and how are you able to portray them in this manner?
The subjects of my paintings has always been myself projected onto other they’re all self-portraits. The core of all my work is always about expressing a feeling or an emotion good. It’s about the metaphysical so in order for me to translate that into a physical piece of work I use symbols that for me signifies the inner minds cape.