Julia Hacker is a Canadian-Belarusian multidisciplinary artist based between Toronto, Canada, and Oakland, USA. Born and raised in Minsk, Belarus, she left home at seventeen to study art and later earned a Master’s Degree in Fashion Design from Belarusian University. Before dedicating herself fully to painting, she worked as a leading fashion designer, created stage costumes for performers and singers, and contributed fashion illustrations and spreads to a local magazine.
After the Chornobyl nuclear disaster, Julia relocated to Canada in 1990, a move that became an important turning point in her life and creative identity. She continued to expand her artistic practice through years of painting, workshops, experimentation, and self-directed study. Today, she is a full-time artist and an Elected Member of the Canadian Society of Artists, with work shown in solo and group exhibitions across Canada and the United States.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

Julia’s paintings grow from her fascination with nature, the feminine body, colour, sensuality, and organic form. She often sees landscape and the body as connected — both holding vulnerability, nurturing, transformation, and strength. Her process begins intuitively, allowing colour, gesture, and emotion to lead before structure and analysis enter the work.
Working primarily with acrylic paint, handmade collage, acrylic skins, heavy gel mediums, and textured surfaces, Julia builds paintings that feel tactile, layered, and alive. Her vibrant colour palette and feminine energy are central to her visual language.
At the heart of Julia’s work is intimacy: intimacy with nature, the body, memory, emotion, and the self. As she matures, her work reflects a growing freedom from expectation and a deeper trust in honesty, desire, and self-possession. Through her paintings, she hopes to create a sense of connection, compassion, and belonging.