James Ulmer's upcoming solo show, Situations, at V1 Gallery in Copenhagen showcases his innovative approach to figurative painting. Drawing from diverse influences such as graphic novels and Western art history, Ulmer creates works that reflect simple yet vibrant narratives. His flat, colorful depictions of generic characters in everyday scenarios challenge viewers by sitting at the intersection of clarity and abstraction, evoking both familiarity and an unsettling depth. This deliberate ambiguity complicates perception while still honoring the historical role of figurative painting in depicting daily life.
Ulmer's works evoke something akin to the frames of a comic strip, each revealing a small, self-contained narrative populated with brightly coloured, one-dimensional humans.
His subjects are purposefully generic - they seem to exist somewhere between the easy legibility of a road sign and the stylised, cultic symbolism of ancient art.
Straddling the middle ground between the immediately decipherable and the highly enigmatic allows him to complicate perception and introduce a surreal and unsettling undercurrent.
Ulmer draws inspiration from diverse sources including graphic novels, children's toys, and commercial illustration, joining a continuum of artists redefining painting.
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