Ulla Wiggen
Passage
22 November 2025 – 12 April 2026
Mjellby konstmuseum
The critically acclaimed exhibition Passage presents Swedish artist Ulla Wiggens (b. 1942) many years of artistry: from the 1960s paintings of electronics to the depictions of human irises in recent years.
Wiggen approaches his subjects with matter-of-fact realism and often uses a muted color scale. Characteristic of her artistry are also the clear and at the same time surprising transitions from one theme to another. In many of her works you can see a kind of passage, where the gaze focuses on something inside the depicted object and then moves outwards again. The relationship between the interior and the exterior – both materially and spiritually – is central.
During the late 1960s, humans enter as a motif, first in the form of portraits, later through detailed depictions of internal organs. These Intra-paintings are located between the hyper-realistic and completely fictional - in a surrealist spirit as well. In the 2010s, Wiggen's international breakthrough occurred when she reached a wider audience with her Iris paintings.
The exhibition is curated and produced by EMMA - Espoo modern art museum. It was shown at EMMA in autumn 2024 and then traveled further to Västerås Art Museum. A version of the exhibition entitled Outside / Inside was shown at the Fridericianum in Kassel in the spring of 2024.
