Espoo Museum of Modern Art
18.09.2024 - 26.01.2025
Ulla Wiggen: Passage
The exhibition showcases paintings by the Swedish artist Ulla Wiggen (b. 1942) throughout her career spanning over six decades. Wiggen's career is marked by distinct yet surprising transitions from one subject to another. Her works also feature various kinds of transitions and passages, where the viewer’s gaze focuses inward on the depicted subject and then back outward again. The exhibition's name also refers to the painting, Passage, on display.
In the early years of her career in the 1960s, Wiggen took a particular interest in electronics. She then began painting portraits, followed by precise depictions of human internal organs. In the 2010s, Wiggen achieved international breakthrough and wider recognition with her Iris paintings.
Ulla Wiggen approaches her subjects with calm realism, often using a subdued colour palette. Her works are precise and deliberately detached depictions of their subjects. However, their themes and details provoke contemplation about human existence, the body, and the mind.
The exhibition is organised in collaboration with the Fridericianum in Kassel, Germany and Västerås Konstmuseum in Sweden. The Fridericianum hosted Ulla Wiggen's exhibition Outside / Inside in spring 2024, and in 2025 the exhibition hosted at EMMA will travel to its next destination, Västerås.
Mobile guide
Read more about the exhibition and its themes on the mobile guide!
Exhibition on the media
Helen Korpak, Kunstkritikk, 3.10.2024
Introspective
Nicholas Norton, Frieze, 2.10.2024
Ulla Wiggen’s Discomforting Gaze
Exhibition team
Curator: Pernilla Wiik
Project management: Pilvi Kalhama, Pernilla Wiik
Graphic design: Milla Rissanen
Technical design and construction : Miika Kyyrö, Olli Lukkari,
Lasse Naukkarinen, Jari Rönkkö
Lighting: Lasse Lindfors
Conservation: Marianne Miettinen
Registration: Jenni Enbom, Maria Savela
Exhibition texts: Nanne Raivio, Pernilla Wiik,
Mobile guide: Nanne Raivio, Helmi Tolonen, Pernilla Wiik
Audience engagement and events program: Reetta Kalajo, Nanne Raivio
Guided tour design: Riikka Alanko
Customer service design: Maija Eränen, Bodil Stenvall
Marketing and Communications: Iris Suomi, Helmi Tolonen
Photography and documentation: Ari Karttunen
Videography and postproduction: Ari Karttunen, Pernilla Wiik
Service sales, visitor surveys: Essi Huhtanen
EMMA Shop: Mira Alanko, Salla Engström
EMMA customer service and guides
Translations: Simo Vassinen (English)