Come What May

Galleri Brandstrup is delighted to announce Ilija Wyller’s solo exhibition “Come What May”, a contemplative exploration of landscapes, memory, and interconnection through painting. The exhibition opens on Thursday, 9th of January 2025, at 6 PM.

Norwegian artist Ilija Wyller (born 1987, New York) artistic practice captures the transitions and connections between natural and urban landscapes, objects, and human experience. Wyller’s works merge layers of acrylic and oil on diverse surfaces; jute, linen, and cotton, where the textures of these materials influence and guide her expression.

“Come What May” marks a significant shift in Wyller’s practice. Previously focused on building structural layers through paint, the artist now allows the canvas itself to dictate the structure. “The various canvases I use allow certain actions and expressions,” Wyller explains. “Whereas before I was interested in building this structure through the paint, now the canvas dictates this instead.” This approach creates an active dialogue between material and motif, where texture becomes integral to the narrative.

The exhibition show works created over the course of 2024, including paintings made in Paris, inspired by elements of Impressionism and mid-20th-century Symbolism, particularly the role of landscapes as sanctuaries. One recurring motif is the horizon, which Wyller explores both as a literal element, sometimes drawn directly into the paint with her hands, and as a symbolic representation of transition and perspective.

“I was interested in exploring elements of chance,” Wyller reflects, “and how unpredictability is a common denominator in life. So much of what happens seems to be defined by circumstances at hand, by the tools and materials available, and by the influences of the environment.”

Wyller’s works are grounded in her immediate surroundings, drawing on photographs of overgrown landscapes, disused construction sites, and traces of human interaction with nature. These images form the foundation for her paintings, which explore the interconnectedness of objects, environments, and memories. Inspired by Bruno Latour’s We Have Never Been Modern and eco-philosophy, Wyller sees time and place as non-linear and entangled, where past and present overlap. “Beings and objects are interconnected through cooperation or opposition, equally influencing and being influenced by their surroundings.”

“Come What May” features a range of techniques, including the use of non-traditional tools such as spatulas and hands for applying paint, alongside the layering of materials like wax, poured paint, and textured textiles. These methods result in a striking interplay of matte and glossy surfaces, dynamic brushwork, and deliberate transitions between color fields, evoking a rhythm and energy that mirrors the unpredictability of life itself.

“I think this body of work moves toward something subtler and more contemplative,” Wyller notes. “The paintings look more like actual landscapes, but they remain descriptions of experience—how objects, places, and memories are entangled.”

We invite the viewer to be immersed in Ilija Wyller’s evocative world of layered textures, introspective themes, and fluid transitions between material and expression. Through her work, Wyller offers a profound dialogue on how landscapes—and the lives within them—are shaped by chance, reciprocity, and memory.