Julie Umerle

Julie Umerle is a contemporary artist and painter who currently lives and works in London. She was born in the United States and moved to England at the age of five. She graduated from University College Falmouth, Cornwall with a BA (1st Class Hons) in Fine Art, and earned her MFA at Parsons School of Design in New York.

Her paintings are inspired by an interest in fractals and chaos theory. She has exhibited in the UK and internationally: in 'British Abstract Art: Part 3' at Flowers East; in 'The London Group' at The Barbican Centre; at the Blue Gallery; and in many other shows. Her work is held in public and private collections worldwide with collectors including Deutsche Bank and Warburg Pincus. She has received awards for her paintings from the Arts Council England and the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation.

"To call a painting 'Paragon' is a daring move but in many ways, in her works of that title, Julie Umerle offers up a perfect paradigm for painting. The 'Paragon' paintings give us two spaces and, as in most of the recent work, one acts as a foil to the other. One side of the canvas proposes an infinite space, a space to step into, to escape to, to retreat to. The other side situates the viewer firmly in front of the work. The surface requires that you notice it - the paint thick with quartzsand keeps one at bay - you are in the present, the here and now. The 'Paragon' paintings make us aware of our sublunary state - we are here but we want to be there. Something is in the way. But perhaps we are glad of it."

Extract from catalogue introduction by Rebecca Fortnum for solo exhibition by Julie Umerle at Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry, UK. 1995.

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