As a matter of principle, I am opposed to any kind of “categorization”, but of course a certain preference for the representational cannot be concealed. Influences from Pop Art, hyperrealism, and surrealism are certainly noticeable in my work. Nevertheless, I feel free to choose the type of representation, medium, and style, depending on my intention. So for me there is no formal principle that has to be strictly adhered to and that must encompass all work. The concept of the individual work is always the determining factor in its implementation.
It is important to me to make art that reaches as many people as possible and not just an "elitist" group. I do not want to exclude this under any circumstances, but it seems necessary to me to reach the vast majority, including the less art-interested public, in some way. However, I try to present different levels of the viewer
Facilitate discussion. The "access gate" is the visual that is supposed to arouse interest. In doing so, it can "literally jump into the eye" of the viewer and so I try to achieve an increase through a certain presence in the representation. It should touch, shock, confuse, make you laugh, or cry.
This basic attitude is also based on the content. They feed on questions of philosophy, psychology, and questions about society. I am particularly interested in the most primal, the amazement at the world, which compels us with perplexity and questions, encompasses all people, and binds them without differences on one level. The human being in his contradictions embedded in a world full of contradictions, his conflict-ridden “being in the world”, his “questioning everything” far beyond the limits of absurdity, I place his longing and search for redemption in the center of my interest. In everyday hustle and bustle, we often forget about "existence" and the questions that arise. So my artistic direction is primarily a content and not a formal one.
I would like to call my project the draft of a “skeptical existential realism”. This does not understand itself through a naturalistic representation of everyday situations, but in the attempt to implement the mentioned problematic of being in the multiplicity of its appearances, including physical, psychological, emotional, and symbolic aspects. It is an attempt to depict the existential situation of man in his comprehensive pluralistic reality of being. It doesn't always have to be deadly serious, I also like to look at this topic with a wink. My work aims to bring the fundamental question of human existence, the answer to which ultimately forms the basis of any worldview, religion, or political ideology, back to the center of the discourse.
Adam Ulen was born in Austria. He graduated from Master of Art, Art University Linz (Austria), Department for Ceramics / Plastic Conception, various exhibitions at home and abroad, 'artist in residence stays' in Japan. He participated in “Nakanojo Biennale 2019”, Gunma Prefecture, Nakanojo town, Japan. In 2016, participated Abiko International Open Air Exhibition, Japan.
More art works: http://www.yicollecta.com/en/collections/53
Photos ©️ Adam Ulen ＆ YIART
