Solo Exhibition at Stockton University
Julia Clift: Can it be both? is currently on view at Stockton University, nestled within the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Exhibition programming (now passed) included a fascinating q&a with the Greek scholar Despina Constantinides and a two-day natural inks workshop for Stockton students. The show features a beautiful catalogue with an introductory essay by Jacob Feige. Reach out if you'd like a copy!
Open hours are Monday-Thursday 12-7 pm / Friday-Saturday 11 am-3 pm, through November 7th.
The gallery is located at 101 Vera King Farris Drive [L-wing, adjacent to the Performing Arts Center], Galloway, NJ.
Can it be both?
The works in this exhibition combine imagery from different American regions with invention and abstraction, constructing new worlds while reflecting on the present moment in this nation and on Earth. The work particularly draws on landscapes 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 up to six feet tall, my oil paintings typically evolve from small collage sketches made from printed snapshots, tourism advertisements, and color swatches. My recent works on paper, developed in tandem with the paintings, incorporate natural inks concocted from foraged plants, kitchen waste, and scrap metal. This exhibition also includes a selection of abstract ink drawings made during the pandemic, as well as process materials.
Overall, Can it be both? grapples with Anthropocentric ways of thinking, American culture, the expanding role of digital technology in daily life, and my own filtered perceptions of reality. I see these works as straddling dualities, appearing alternately hopeful and foreboding, flat and deep, seductive and disorienting. They speak to our complicated, confusing time, and my experience of holding conflicting truths.
Photos by AnA Photography