Julia Sanders
Artist Statement
Morphogenesis
This project searches for a way of disengaging the psychological autopilot of the viewer as they encounter an image at once recognizable yet vaguely uncanny. We begin with the image of the oft-reiterated female form acting both as autobiographical narrative and as an historically recognized art subject. By bridging abstraction and figuration, the works speak to the contemporary moment—where culture has taken increasingly towards collaging all the artifacts of the past like a dj to spawn new frontier.
We find that our current collective identity is defined not simply by what it is, but by what borders it has defended in an attempt to exclaim what it is not. These demarcations are being illuminated in contemporary society in the hopes, of some, that they be reintegrated and ultimately eliminated. In this way, the challenging commingling of subtly dark or abject visual themes with vivid, phosphorescent color, evident in the works suggests a new vocabulary hinging on the coming together of disparate identities. There is as much indication of fertility in the subject as there is a sense of decomposition, both visually and metaphorically. Therefore, the energy in the works defy stasis and entropy and encourages excitation and organic symbiosis. We begin with two points that hopefully fall in love with each other. They twist and create disruptions, or ripples, like sound waves in a vacuum, increasing flexibility and dislodging rigidity in their midst. Here, the theme Morphogenesis refers to the innate desire for entity and environment to become one.
Rather than presenting the iconic feminine figure in a frozen portrayal, this project acts more like a system of visual imagery. The system is meant for continuations rather than endings, and is therefore expressed serially and repetitively. The movement from piece to piece is meant to be subtle in contrast to the slightly bedazzling nature of the pieces. In this way, the pieces are meant to encourage a transitioning towards the other side of a historically ‘over-rendered’ argument, to a new vocabulary that the viewer may know is there, but doesn’t yet know how to engage.
Artist Bio
Julia Sanders is an artist based in Philadelphia, PA. She recently graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts where she studied painting with a focus on chiaroscuro and the feminine form. A prolific artist from a young age, she received a full scholarship to attend the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, CA. While in school, Sanders helped to establish and run the non-profit arts organization, Art Collision. The artist collective provided opportunities for emerging artists to curate and participate in international pop-up shows hosted by well-established galleries. Sanders went on to develop and curate exhibitions at Space Gallery in San Francisco. From there she decided to relocate to the East Coast to complete her BFA at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Sanders has exhibited nationally and internationally, presenting contemporary figurative works that speak to her own personal experience of temporality and the feminine form.
Selected Exhibitions
Education
2018 BFA/Certificate, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Pennsylvania, PA
2005 Painting, one semester, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA
2003 Boulder High School, Boulder, CO
2002 Pratt Summer Program, New York City, NY
Solo exhibitions
2019 Morphogenesis, Space Gallery, Denver, CO
2013 Art at Den, Den Gallery, Austin, TX
2011 Space Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2010 Space Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2009 Space Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007 Laughing Goat, Boulder, CO
2006 Rembrandt Yards, Boulder, CO
2005 Boulder Republic, Boulder, CO
2004 Mullein Design, Boulder, CO
2003 Mullein Design, Boulder, CO
2002 Mullein Design, Boulder, CO
2001 Penny Lane, Boulder, CO
Group exhibitions
2018 117thAnnual Student Exhibition, PAFA, Philadelphia, PA
2017 116thAnnual Student Exhibition, PAFA, Philadelphia, PA
2016 Gallery 128, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2010 Space Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2009 Space Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2008 Art Collision, Space Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2006 Art Collision, Space Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2006 Art Collision, Park Slope pop-up gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2005 Commissioned Work, Mipham Shedra Buddhist Center, Tacoma, WA
2005 Art Collision, San Francisco, CA
2005 Boulder Fringe Fest, Boulder, CO
2004 Anniversary Show, George Schmidt Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2003 Space Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Scholarships and Awards
2017 Violette de Mazia Memorial Scholarship, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2016 Caldwalader Prize for Portraiture, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2013 Caldwell/Maguire Scholarship, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2004 Presidential Scholarship, full tuition, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA
2002 Pre College Merit Scholarship, Pratt Institute, New York, NY
2002 Congressional Arts Competition, Boulder High School, Boulder, CO
2000 Merit Scholarship, Perry Mansfield Arts Academy, Steamboat Springs, CO
Art related Experience
Gallerist/Curator/Exhibition Coordinator, Space Gallery, 2009-2010, San Francisco, CA
Non-profit Cofounder/Exhibition Coordinator/Exhibitor, Art Collision,2007-2009
Exhibition Coordinator/Gallerist, Boulder Fringe Fest, 2007, Boulder, CO
Vocalist, Paper Stars, folk rock band, 2006, Boulder, CO
Volunteer, Boulder Fringe Festival, 2005, Boulder, CO