Karl Ullger to exhibit works in Belgium gallery

Gibraltarian artist Karl Ullger will be exhibiting his artworks in a new exhibition in Antwerp as part of the collaborative group Cane-Yo.

The exhibition called ‘Wish you were here Part 2’ will launch on Saturday, May 13 in the Dalek Art Gallery.

The exhibition aims to showcase a diverse range of artwork that reflects the unique culture and artistic style of Cane-Yo artists.

The artist have been selected from the collaborative group and include works from landscapes to portraits.

Two of Mr Ullger’s works have been selected, both being figure works.

“I’m locally more known for my landscape paintings, but within the last four years I have been working on a lot more figure work,” Mr Ullger said.

“With the Cane-Yo exhibition ‘Wish you were here’. the ones I submitted for the judging were from my figures portfolio.”

“The two that curator Tsjebbe selected were, coincidently, two that reflect very much the way I work on my landscapes exploring light and shadow. Both male figures having sun play a big part of the composition and general aesthetics.”

This is the second time Mr Ullger’s artworks have been selected for a Cane-Yo exhibition, with him being featured in the first part of this series last year.

This time, he will be travelling to Antwerp to see the exhibition in person.

“Obviously having my work hanging for a second year running is a fantastic feeling especially in a gallery in the heart of Antwerp but what I’m even more looking forward to is meeting again, and some for the first time, my fellow Cane-Yo artist friends,” Mr Ullger said.

“Cane-Yo is very much made by an international collective of artists but now to converse and socialise in person is going to be great.”

“I have met with five or six of the Cane-Yo group before, in UK, but this year there is an even bigger crowd going. Artists travelling to Belgium from the USA, France, Italy, UK, Malta to name a few.”

His artworks will be hung alongside one of the founders of Cane-Yo, Alex Wilby.

“His work is very influential and fresh,” Mr Ullger said.

“Then there is French artist Alexis Guenier that uses such bright colours in his fascinating narrative pieces. I proudly own a work of his already.”

“Camilo, Margo and Patrizio are another three pencil wizards who will be showcasing their sketchbook work.”

“Painters like Nicole Debono, Peter Salmi and Aimee Hasan will all be there.”

“It’s such a great line up.”

He also thanked the curator, Tsjebbe Van Damme, for his work and hinted at the possibility of a Cane-Yo exhibition in Gibraltar in the near future.

Over the years, the Cane-Yo collective has grown from 60 artists to over 2,000 with the exhibition featuring between 40 and 50 works from around 35 artists.

Mr Van Damme told the Chronicle he organised the second exhibition after meeting the artists last year.

“It is just incredible to meet artists, certainly these people I have been talking with online for so many years,” he said.

“I feel like we are one family and we just really understand each other very well. Maybe the show is just an excuse for us all to come together.”

When selecting the artworks for the exhibition, Mr Van Damme followed his gut-feeling and personal taste.

“This year I tried to be more organic and not necessarily select any works,” he said.

“I believe the overall level of artists in our group is high and I trusted people would send in good works. Sometimes I had to select works when the artists themself were unsure.”

“I followed my gut-feeling and personal taste for those.”

He added that he gave people their freedom when sending in their works, which he said is a good reflection of the group and their open-mindedness.

“Most of them are oil paintings, a couple drawings,” Mr Van Damme said.

“We also decided to make a lot of prints this year, instead of original works. It is just easier to print the works in Antwerp then to ship all the works.”

“Those prints are from drawings, paintings, and some digital works as well. There might be a video and maybe some works with other materials as well.”

The exhibition will be open from Saturday, May 13 to Sunday, May 28 in the Dalek Art Gallery in Antwerp, Belgium.