I was born and raised in Almaty, Kazakhstan, studied painting and other creative artistic pursuits from an early age and graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from Almaty State University in 1995. In 2016, I moved to Canada to reside permanently in Toronto with my daughter and husband.
Biography
Julia studied creative visual arts at university and graduated with a degree in Fine Art from Almaty State University (ASU) in 1995. Between 1996 and 1998, she taught and lectured in the ASU Arts and Crafts department, before pursuing her artistic career full-time.
Julia creates her art using original technique, taking modern approach to the traditional art of batik, and has been known to describe her self-expression as akin to ‘graphics on silk’. Julia has exhibited widely almost every year since 1998, in Kazakhstan, at Christie's Auction House in London (UK) and in Toronto. Individuals and corporations around the world, including in Kazakhstan, Russia, Spain, South Korea, the USA, Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and Israel, have purchased her original artwork for their residences and offices.
Exhibitions
2017 — “A Retrospective”, Rosedale Art Fair, Toronto, Canada
2015 — “So There Were Stars”, Clay House Gallery, Almaty, Kazakhstan
2014 — “View Through The Window”, Artscape Wychwood Barns Community Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2010 — “Tête-à-Tête”, Art Centre Alma-Ata Gallery, Almaty, Kazakhstan
2014 — “Meeting On The Way”, Palace of Independence, Astana, Kazakhstan 2013 — “If A Soul Had A Profile”, Art Centre Alma-Ata Gallery, Almaty, Kazakhstan 2012 — “World of Children”, Art Centre Alma-Ata Gallery, Almaty, Kazakhstan 2011 — “Horsemen”, Art Centre Alma-Ata Gallery, Almaty, Kazakhstan
2009 — “Walks in the City”, Art Centre Alma-Ata Gallery, Almaty, Kazakhstan
2009 — “Ingenious View”, Art Centre Alma-Ata Gallery, Almaty, Kazakhstan
2008 — “Art Nomad”, Christie’s Auction House, London, England
2007 — “Melody of the Sun”, Central Exhibition Hall, SRCE Directorate of Exhibitions and Auctions of the Kazakhstan Ministry of Culture, Almaty, Kazakhstan
2006 — solo exhibition, Tandem Phillip Morris Gallery, Almaty, Kazakhstan
2004 — “Towards the Sun”, Central Exhibition Hall, SRCE Directorate of Exhibitions and Auctions of the Kazakhstan Ministry of Culture, Almaty, Kazakhstan
2003 — “All Muses Are Women”, ARK Gallery, Almaty, Kazakhstan
2000 — “History of Fish”, Tribune Gallery, Almaty, Kazakhstan
1999 — solo exhibition, ABN AMRO Bank Kazakhstan, Almaty, Kazakhstan
1999 — solo exhibition, Tribune Gallery, Almaty, Kazakhstan
1998 — participated in the “Batik World” exhibition, A. Kasteyev State Museum, Almaty, Kazakhstan
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I paint on silk.
For more than 20 years, from the very first time I was introduced to it during my university studies, I have explored the world of the ancient technique of batik. Since then, I have been redefining it as a modern media that brings the best of this traditional craft while at the same time reflects my own approach to it as well as my personal vision of integrating art in a contemporary interior.
Having developed original techniques, that I like to call “graphics on silk”, I create my art using exquisite silk, paints and waxes from Central Asia and Europe.
It has taken me a lifetime of testing, experimenting and creating to finally find the perfect combination of materials – I use paints that are of archival standards, specifically manufactured for use on silk, and both UV- and water-resistant. The silk, personally sourced from the markets of Uzbekistan, is all-natural and of the absolute highest quality .
I work on each painting, gradually layering paints on the silk’s surface with a brush, beginning with the lightest tones, then flowing to darker ones, highlighting colors and overlying them until they vibrate. Using hot wax, which will later be removed from the painting, helps to create distinctive, one of a kind, effects of splashing and fine cracking lines.
The result is the painting which surface is water and UV resistant, and colours won’t fade over decades.
