Ulla Wiggen’s masterful paintings guide the gaze into the multilayered worlds of electronics and humanity

Ulla Wiggen (b. 1942) is renowned for her paintings depicting electronics and human beings both from the inside and the outside. Her approach is precise and investigative, drawing inspiration from visually interesting electronic components, x-rays and anatomical diagrams. The exhibition at EMMA, comprising nearly 50 works, is one of the first museum exhibitions to present such a comprehensive overview of the artist's work. The title of the exhibition, Passage, reflects the transitions between the internal and external worlds of humans as portrayed in Wiggen's paintings, as well as the various phases of the artist's long career.

“Ulla Wiggen's approach to her subjects, whether electronic devices or the iris of an eye, reveals a deep curiosity to understand both the human being and the surrounding world. As seen in the Passage exhibition, she approaches her subjects with a cool realism, while the abundance of details gives her works great depth. It's fascinating how Wiggen manages to capture both the complexity and beauty of her subjects in her paintings,” describes Pernilla Wiik, EMMA’s curator responsible for curating Passage.

Having worked since the 1960s, Ulla Wiggen was one of the pioneering artists to explore computers and machine culture in her art. She became known for her paintings of circuit boards and electronic devices. In the 1970s, Wiggen shifted her focus to portraiture and the human figure before embarking on a career as a psychotherapist. She continued to paint sporadically and eventually returned to painting in the 2010s. In recent years, her work has become increasingly reduced, focusing on subjects such as the brain and eyes, particularly the irises. Her technically demanding Iris paintings brought her wider recognition during the main exhibition of the 2022 Venice Biennale. Wiggen’s life’s work was honoured with one of Sweden’s most prestigious art awards, the Prince Eugen Medal, in 2023. The artist discusses her career and work in a video portrait produced by EMMA, which can be viewed both in the exhibition space and online on the EMMA Zone website.

The Passage exhibition has been organised in collaboration with the Fridericianum in Kassel and Västerås Art Museum and supported by the Swedish Embassy in Helsinki. 

“Our unique collaboration with European partner museums highlights the importance of international partnerships. The exhibition curated by Pernilla Wiik for EMMA will move to Sweden’s Västerås Art Museum next year. Through this collaboration, Ulla Wiggen’s paintings will be widely seen in her home country for the first time. It’s wonderful that Wiggen’s work is receiving the international recognition it deserves on such a scale,” celebrates Pilvi Kalhama, EMMA’s Executive Director.