BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

Julia Clift is a Philadelphia-based artist using painting, drawing, and collage to reflect on current American culture, the expanding role of digital technology in daily life, humankind's fraught relationship with the natural world, and her own mediated perceptions of reality. Her work has been widely exhibited throughout the United States, at locations including Massey Klein Gallery, Gross McCleaf Gallery, Pentimenti Gallery, Fleisher Art Memorial, MassoniArt, Bloomfield Richwood Gallery, GreenHill Center for NC Art, Philip Slein Gallery, and Arnot Art Museum. Her pieces are held in permanent collections at Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn, NY, and Penn Medicine’s Clifton Center for Medical Breakthroughs in Philadelphia. A passionate educator, Julia has taught painting and drawing at The Pennsylvania State University, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Maryland Institute College of Art, and West Chester University. At Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, Julia co-created and continues to teach Visualizing Anatomy, a course that deepens medical students’ understanding of anatomy through visual arts curriculum. In 2023, she conceived and curated Seeing the Anthropocene, a multi-venue exhibition in Philadelphia featuring works by over a dozen international artists, scientists, and musicians all grappling with urgent environmental issues. Julia received her BFA from Washington University in St. Louis and her MFA from Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University. She additionally studied under the painter Odd Nerdrum from 2009-2010. Her writing has been featured in BOMB, Hyperallergic, and Title Magazine.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My paintings and works on paper combine imagery from different American regions with invention and abstraction, constructing new worlds while reflecting on the present moment in the nation and on Earth. I mostly use landscape imagery from Central Florida, the Philadelphia area, and the Appalachian Mountains, all places where I’ve lived or spent a significant amount of time. Ranging in scale from sixteen inches to six feet tall, my oil paintings evolve from small collage sketches that I make from printed snapshots, tourism photos, and color swatches. The collages serve as initial blueprints for my painted compositions, but each painting develops over time into its own, unique entity. In 2024, I began an ongoing series of smaller works on paper that incorporate natural inks, concocted from foraged plants and detritus. Overall, my creative process grapples with Anthropocentric ways of thinking, American culture, the expanding role of digital technology in daily life, and my own mediated perceptions of reality. For me, the work speaks to timeless and timely anxieties while remaining playful, projecting a sense of possibility. 

CV

CONTACT: juliaclift5 [at] gmail [dot] com