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ABOUT
STATEMENT
My work is based on my observation of opposing forces in nature. I make paintings that explore relationships that are both at odds and in harmony, including animals feeding, chasing and being chased, and the garden above and below ground. Sweeping layers of paint establish images of earth and body, predator and prey, and fleshy temporality. Within the layers, I integrate sourced images of partial landscapes and predacious animals. The found images and collaged paper both disrupt and complete the surface. My painting process makes visible evidence of chance, uncertainty, and discovery. The fractured landscapes are reflections of self. They encompass the cycle of damage and repair that defines the natural world and exists among the simplest to the most sophisticated life forms. Sometimes we cheer for the predator, sometimes the prey.
I use photography as an artistic medium rather than a narrative medium. The forest and rural environment are subjects in my photographs. Centered around growth and decay, I use experimental methods that break away from rules of clear focus, realistic color, and predictable perspective. I position the camera and manipulate it to capture the effects of the digital algorithm. The resulting vaporous images allow for the suspension of logic, and raise questions about impermanence and the role of the photograph as documentation.
BIO
Julia Paul works in painting, drawing, and experimental photography, and has a distinctive regional voice. Her paintings explore complex natural systems with images of disasters and wild animals. Her award-winning photography has been cited in The Washington Post, and centers on the Virginia landscape as well as questions around the role of photography as documentation. She has shown her work nationally in gallery and museum exhibitions including at the Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies, Durham, NC; Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA; Touchstone Gallery, Washington, DC; Target Gallery, Alexandria, VA; Blue Line Arts, Sacramento, CA; SE Center for Photography, Greenville, SC; and the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts, Providence. She has an MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles, and worked at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, contributing to the coordination and execution of large historical survey and artist exhibitions. She also designed and produced wheel-thrown pottery sold in the US and internationally. She was an adjunct professor in painting at the School of Visual Arts at Radford University. Julia Paul lives and works in Virginia.
Paul’s “Seed Pod”... is radiantly light.
— Mark Jenkins, The Washington Post, 2023
Walking past a window our eyes typically fall on the view outside. Julia Paul’s images suggest that there are hidden images to be found if we break from habitual looking.
— Carolyn Benedict Fraser, 2022 Art Through the Lens
Julia Paul at Findings Gallery
March 1 - 30, 2024
Press Release
JULIA PAUL
Lives and works in Virginia
EXHIBITIONS
2026 63rd Annual Exhibition, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA
SE Center Open, The SE Center for Photography, Greenville, NC
Polaroid: The Instant Image, Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2025 Computing the Lens, Research-Driven Images, Center for Documentary Studies, DukeUniversity, Durham, NC
National Painting Exhibition, The University of Southern Mississippi George Hurst Gallery of Art
Works on Paper, Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences, Long Beach Island, NJ
2025 Month of Photography Denver Festival, The Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, CO
Forma Natura: Nature as Source, Arts Benicia, Benicia, CA
2025 Biennial Exhibition, Olin Gallery, Roanoke, VA
2024 Riverviews Annual, Riverviews Artspace, Lynchburg, VA
National Juried Exhibition 2024, Haggin Museum, Stockton CA
37th Juried Competition, Alexandria Museum of Art, Alexandria, LA
Art Through the Lens 2024, Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY
Julia Paul, Findings Gallery, Lynchburg, VA (solo)
61st Annual Juried Competition, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA
Traces, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT
2023 Permaculture: Art of the Natural World, Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, IN
Private Space, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
People and The Planet, Touchstone Gallery, Washington, DC
In Sight, O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA
Ephemerality, Strata Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Modern Analog, Dallas Center for Photography, Dallas, TX
Sequence, Touchstone Gallery, Washington, DC
Landscape Constructed and Wild, Site:Brooklyn Gallery, online
2022 Crocker-Kingsley, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, CA
Nocturnes: Dusk till Dawn, Praxis, Minneapolis, MN
Art Through the Lens 2022, Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY
Seeing Beyond: Photography and Digital Art, Rhode Island Watercolor Society, Pawtucket, RI
Convergence: Contemporary Photography, Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, IN
8th International Juried Exhibition, RI Center for Photographic Arts, Providence, RI
Where are We Now?, Lenscratch.com, online
2021 Hypothesis, Target Gallery, Alexandria, VA
2013 American Craft Council Show, Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD
2012 Artisans & Agro-ecology, Hunt Gallery, Waynesboro, VA
2010 Nostalgia, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT
Paducah Photo 2010, Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY
47th Annual Juried Competition, Masur Museum, Monroe, LA
EDUCATION
MFA, University of California, Los Angeles, 1997
BA, University of California, Los Angeles, 1995
AWARDS
2022 3rd Place: Art Through the Lens 2022, Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Virginia Commonwealth University Health, Richmond, VA
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2025 Radford University, Adjunct Faculty in Painting
2011-2018 Julia Paul Pottery, LLC, artist/owner
1995-2004 The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Curatorial Associate; Art Handler
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
2024 37th September Competition, Alexandria Museum of Art, exhib. cat. Alexandria, LA
2023 Mark Jenkins, "In the galleries: Using technology as a medium and an inspiration,”
The Washington Post, Feb 10, 2023.
2022 Crocker Kingsley 2022, Blue Line Gallery, exhib. cat. Roseville, CA
Nocturnes: Dusk till Dawn, Praxis Gallery, exhib. cat. Minneapolis, MN
Art Through The Lens 2022, Yeiser Art Center, exhib. cat. Paducah, KY
8th International Juried Exhibition, RI Center for Photographic Arts, exhibition catalogue. Providence, RI
2021 Hypothesis, Target Gallery, exhib. cat. Alexandria, VA
2017 Eliza Karlson, "Fired up about Ceramics." Colorado Homes Magazine, Aug 15, 2017.
2016 Maud Charmoy, "Why We're Addicted to Ceramics.” Vogue, April 16, 2016.
2014 Jura Koncius, "West Elm Opens a New Store on 14th Street.” The Washington Post, Oct 23.
Paul Blais, "Julia Paul, Julia Paul Pottery, Episode 30." The Potter’s Cast, Aug 5.
”Charm & Soul." American Craft Magazine, Dec/Jan, 2014.
PUBLICATIONS
2024 "Photosynthesis," Virginia: self-published, 2023.
2008 "Far From the City: Polaroid Photographs by Julia Paul," Virginia: self-published, 2008.
2004 "A Minimal Future? Art as Object 1958-1968," Exhib. catalogue. Los Angeles: The Museum of Contemporary Art, 2004. MIT Press. Contributor: 233-235, 294-295, 308, 342-345.