PRACTICE

Born

Marietta, OH 1948

Education

Ohio University (BFA) 1966 -1970

(MFA) 2000 -2002

-creates large sculptures and spaces from very basic material: paper, tin foil, paint, things at hand. There is no gloss or tech involved in her process, yet the results are rooms that transport you to surreal versions of familiar sensations. A walk in the dark of night, cool breezes that make hairs stand on end, moonlight on rippling water lapping at your feet, all flipped on their head. For Julia, these are sensual moments stored over a lifetime, and are now being reevaluated under the guise of old age. Working from her journals, a practice she has kept all her life, Julia’s art reflects, sharpens, and distorts under the new pressure of mortality. 

– remembers dying. Or at least when others had done it, and the sensations that come from living on. Julia sensationalizes moments into experiences that recall how hallucinatory being alive is. There is a wobble a Julia McBride installation causes, where you find yourself briefly breathing underwater. These effects are achieved through humor, goodwill towards her viewers, and most importantly, a lack of cynicism.