Karl James Ullger was born in Gibraltar in 1982. From a very young age he showed an interest in the arts. During his younger years, he won several competitions that served him into good stead to pursue his artistic career.

Karl studied BA Hons Graphic Design at Leeds University. Here he experimented using  the various mediums and genres, such as photography, product design, marketing, role play, video art, animation and of course, Fine Arts. During his time at Leeds University he also undertook a course on Music and Film Journalism. Despite being offered a PR position at a local Leeds graphic design company he decided to come back to his routes and study Art & Design at a P.G.C.E teaching level. Here he was able to transfer his skills into his now current job as a secondary school teacher. Whilst exhibiting paintings when the occasion arose.

In 2005 he returned to Gibraltar to teach at Bayside Comprehensive School where he has had a great influence upon the young artists of Gibraltar. So much so, that under his wing pupils have won prestigious awards in the local art scene.

Apart from several pupils winning prizes and being highly commended, he has lead by example by receiving himself 2 Young Artists of the Year Awards. One of which was awarded by a very prestigious RA member, Mick Moon,  who studied at the Chelsea School of Art and the Royal College of Art. Karl has also received in 2009 a very acclaimed 1st prize in the Gibraltar Spring Art Festival, aswell as a 2nd prize in the prestigious International Open Art Exhibition.

The Artist’s style has been described as being of an expressionistic nature but what can be safely said is that his style has changed and developed throughout the course of the last 5 years.

His art influence: Having a graphic design background parallel with his love for the Fine Arts, Karl shows a great diversity in the style in which he works.

Sketches: Sketching has always been Karl’s main starting point as he is a firm believer that sketches help to spark off ideas and improve general drawing skill. Karl has a large database of sketches which have influenced him to produce or develop a painting or even sculpture.

“Sketching is where the heart of artworks are found”
KJ Ullger - 2009

Painting: Whether it is figurative or expressive, Karl’s work always makes an impact. One large aspect that influences his artwork is his travels, allowing him to bring in different cultural arts. His artworks haven taken a more Impasto style of painting that has given him that freedom to experiment not only with paint and media but, also integrate a touch of abstraction into his artwork. There are great influences in his artworks from artists such as Alberto Giacometti, Pablo Picasso, Lucian Freud, Ferdinand Hodler, Edvard Munch and Edward Hopper, to mention a few.

Sculpture: Recently Karl has dived into a new realm of sculpture where he has brought in an original and new style. His sculpture brings an array of colour and has managed to transform his sketches into 3 dimensional forms. The majority of his sculptures concentrate primarily on the human form, but has also shown tendencies on working with more abstract designs.