Danish landscape painter Ulrik Møller (b. 1962) has long since affirmed his leading position within contemporary art, deservedly being compared to great predecessors such as Vilhelm Hammershøi and L.A. Ring, with whom Møller shares a hazy, diffuse mode of expression, a restricted palette and carefully crafted compositions.
At first glance and from a distance, Møller’s paintings look almost like photographs, but on closer inspection the meticulous, vibrant brushstrokes reveal a different reality: the artist’s picturesque world unfolds as one empty landscape after another, a place where time seems to stand still – or does it?
In his works, nothing is left to chance. Potentially disrupting elements are often removed, sacrificed in favour of the overall expression of the painting. His works invite the viewer to enter the scenes depicted, setting thoughts in motion and filling our minds with longing and wonder, a yearning melancholy, evoking a dual sense of absence and presence, calm and disquiet.
Ulrik Møller lives in Berlin, a great contrast to his atmospheric landscapes, which sees him ‘coming home’. Home to Vester Aaby, where he was born and raised, home to the countryside of southern Funen. Over ninety percent of his works show scenes from this area, demonstrating his deep affinity with this familiar rural setting.
