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1. American Food Chain, 2006, ebony pencil on paper, 5’ x 5’
2. Untitled, 2007, ebony pencil on paper, 24” x 30”
3. Self-Portrait, Chiaroscuro, 2006, 18” x 24”
4. Untitled, 2008, ebony pencil on paper, 24” x 30”
5. Untitled, Chiaroscuro, 2007, 32” x 44”
6. Untitled, 2007, ebony pencil on paper, 6” x 15-1/2”
7. Untitled, 2007, ebony pencil on paper, 24” x 30”
8. Untitled, 2007, ebony pencil on paper, 7” x 15-1/2”
9. Sillborn, 2007, ebony pencil on paper, 10” x 13”
10. Untitled, 2008, ebony pencil on paper, 24” x 30”
11. Untitled, 2007, charcoal reduction, 32” x 44”

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1. Untitled, 2006, charcoal and oil paint on un-stretched canvas,
     3’ x 6’
2. Untitled, 2006, silkscreen, 8-1/2” x 11”
3. Untitled, 2006, silkscreen, 8-1/2” x 11”
4. Women’s Locker Room, 2005, intaglio, copper plate in nitric acid,
     10” x 10”

Contact Information
e-mail: jb@juliahblum.com
www.juliahblum.com
Please contact artist for purchases, commissions, etc.

Artist Statement
My artwork illustrates material and ideological dramas of the human condition such as: life, death, sexuality, abjection, and love. Over the past couple of years I have developed a visual language that best depicts the content I tackle. Alien-like figures, both disproportionate and distorted, have found their way onto my canvases, interacting in all-too-human ways. These creatures act as stand-ins for the human being though they are rendered intentionally ambiguous in their race and gender to create a universal appeal or repulsion. When observing my work the viewer has two options: he or she can relate to these creatures and suture into my drawing to indulge in the behaviors I depict, or the viewer can look onto these figures as purely “other” and appreciate the drawing for its visual and technical rendering. This work is not only my perception of my environment, but also a study of our genus: the differences that set us apart from one another and the behaviors that make us all one and the same.

When I begin creating, the pencil becomes an extension of my hand, and what flows onto the paper comes out as pure expression. It is my intention to get lost in my work, as I want my deepest inner feelings to exist on paper. In order to allow this I must inhibit myself from over thinking during the creation process and tap into my subconscious mind. In doing so the work becomes contigent upon my obsessions, my experiences, and my emotions at the time of conception. My work does not depict the Supernatural, but rather the Surreal, and allows for true human passions and conflicts to come into play within the content of my pieces, illustrating unscensored human thoughts, and sometimes actions.

Education
2007
New York University, New York, NY
BFA, Magna Cum Laude

2005
University of Ghana, Legon—Accra, Ghana
Study abroad

Awards and Honors
2008
Chelsea Gallery International Fine Art Competition

Residencies
2009
Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT

2005
Kokrobite Institute, Kokrobite, Ghana

Publications
2006
Kumbayakasha! Catalogue

Selected Exhibitions

2008
Too Real Is Too Real, Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts, Millville, NJ

2007
ISE Art Student Show, ISE Cultural Foundation, New York, NY
Juried Exhibition

Kumbayakasha!, Central Park, NY

Oodallaly: BFA Thesis Exhibition, Rosenberg Gallery, New York University, NY

2006
I’m not a prostitute/Okay how much you got?, Commons, New York University, NY

Other
2007
Open Studios, New York University, NY