Ulla Reiss is a New York-based artist originally from Russia. Reiss’ primary practice started in photography though her work often spans a wide range of media. For Reiss, the physical act of shooting and printing film is the starting point for her broader practice as an artist, the darkroom as alchemical chamber. She explores the subconscious mind by diving into recesses of her memories. Reiss transmutes personal experiences into a contemporary context through dreamlike visual imagery. Guided by the duality of light and dark, she captures unseen moments in their meeting, creating narratives within the nuances of beauty and abstraction.
Ulla frequently draws from the emotional material base of her childhood. After nine years of professional sport in the Olympic Reserve School of Gymnastics in Russia, Smolensk, Reiss found a connection between the strength, structure, and mental discipline of her training with that of Constructivism, Brutalism, and the Bauhaus movement. She started her career in front of the lens, working with well-known photographers and brands as a model. Traveling the world for work gave Reiss the opportunity to visit cultural institutions, allowing her to further develop her visual vocabulary. The naturally shifting chapters of her life encouraged Reiss to move from in front of the camera to behind it, and in the process, find her narrative voice by becoming a keen witness.
