Julia Clift '05

Julia Clift '05 is a Philadelphia-based artist, writer, and educator. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in painting and English literature from Washington University in St. Louis, she studied under the painter Odd Nerdrum in both Norway and France. Her paintings and drawings have been featured in many exhibits across the nation. She currently teaches at Rose Tree Media Academy, a non-traditional high school in Delaware County, and at Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia. She also teaches observational drawing skills to medical students at Jefferson University. Her impressive critical essays and reviews can be found in Title Magazine and The Huffington Post.

Julia's paintings and drawings utilize realism, abstraction, and invention. Her work is inspired by the fluid relationship between physical place and a person's mental landscape.

Julia maintains a long-term portraiture series that focuses on the broad spectrum of female identity, called “Real Woman.” Her “dream-like” paintings of interior environments describe her own enigmatic experiences of daily reality. Her newest body of work comprises small plein air landscapes, ranging from the size of postcards to post-it notes. In these paintings, each brushstroke reflects an act of communion between mind and hand; each landscape conveys the emotions inflicted by the place.

Awards:

• 2014 Merit-based grant, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
• 2014 Fifth Place Prize, Sixth Annual Figurative Drawing and Painting Competition, Lore Degenstein Gallery at Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA
• 2014 Jury Prize, 74th Regional Exhibition, Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, NY
• 2013 Third Place Prize, Fifth Annual Figurative Drawing and Painting Competition, Lore Degenstein Gallery at Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA
• 2013 People’s Choice Award, Homebodies, Liz Afif Gallery, Philadelphia
• 2013 Finalist, Art Renewal Center, 2012-2013 International Salon
• 2013 Second Place Prize, In Person, Community Arts Center, Wallingford, PA
• 2005 - 2009 Fred Conway Scholarship, Washington University in St. Louis
• 2009 Hazel H. Huntsinger Award in Painting, Washington University in St. Louis
• 2006 Sorger Award, Washington University in St. Louis

Solo Exhibitions:

• 2014 Julia Clift, Scott Memorial Library at Jefferson University, Philadelphia
• 2012 Less Literal (More Magic), Artspace, Raleigh, NC
• 2011 Our Daily Walls, East End Gallery at The Arts Center, Carrboro, NC