Invited Artist - What Artists Like
Almost exclusively portraying the female form, Julia Blackshaw aims to capture a moment of calm in her paintings, be it of a solitary hour or a figure deep in a dream. With an outline not dissimilar in approach to Alex Katz, Blackshaw gives us a limited backdrop, employing total focus on the women before us. As the viewer, we observe from afar, studying the figures that seem lost in their own world.
Artist Statement
As a painter I am fascinated by colour and the different atmospheres that they create. I'm concerned with femininity, the representation of women and the capturing of the emotional moment. As a mother of two daughters, I see in the feminine form the woman I am, was and they will become. I'm fascinated by the power of an image, that it can capture and freeze the instant into a perfect state. I paint people in intimate moments, unguarded as people are at their most vulnerable. Identity is withheld, eyes often hidden and yet emotion still felt. My muted tones speak of these stolen quiet reflective times – a momentary respite in our busy lives.
Solo Exhibitions
(2008) From The Land, HB Gallery, Cape Town
(2006) Green With Envy, HB Gallery, Cape Town
Group Exhibitions
(2018) Who She Is, Studio, London
(2017) There She Goes, Heirloom, London
(2016) Evening, The Gallery On The Corner, London
(2011) Family, Newland House, London
(2010) Regroup, Gallery 42, Cape Town
