Curator’s 1st Place Selection
Sunrise Stories by Julia C R Gray
AMANDA KIDD-KESTLER:
“I keep coming back to this piece, and everytime I do, I see something new. This piece shows a mastery of ceramic handbuilding and glazing. The way every surface tells a story makes it read like a book. It is incredibly rich and complex. I love the ties to art history, and the creative use of the modular structure really works to enhance the artist's concept of untold lived experiences.
Absolute knock-out work. Love. Love. Love!"”
Sunrise Stories, photo 1
Sunrise Stories, photo 2
Sunrise Stories, photo 3
Julia C R Gray in her studio in Cardiff by the Sea, California
Julia C R Gray is one of the most prolific artists in our Juniper Rag community. She was awarded a spot in our Luscious Punch show in May of 2022 at CUSP Gallery in Provincetown, MA. Julia drove across country with over 60 sculptures for the New England show. We are very grateful for discovering artists like Julia C R Gray.
We are so thrilled that Amand Kidd-Kestler chose her work for top placement in this exhibition. Julia is a great example of an artist dedicated to her work and one who constantly evolves, striving to create work that is as intuitive as it is complex. We are so proud to support her as a person and a gifted artist. Many of her pieces found new homes in New England and one ventured all the way to Mumbai, India.
JULIA C R GRAY
Cardiff by the Sea, CALIFORNIA, USA
We carry memory in our body. It appears in different forms. Memories are comprised of more than just explicit recollections of the past. They are also embedded in the habitual structure of the body, evidence of one's lived experience. Sometimes the evidence is conveyed through the physical scars, muscle and sinew formation, while other times it is invisible to the viewer. I am interested in what is invisible to the viewer, and what emerges from darkness.
My ceramic torso, Sunrise Stories, has a dark opal outer surface that holds a secret inside. When the torso’s six columns are installed inches apart, it is difficult for the viewer to see the detailed glazed paintings hidden inside. This creates a sensation bordering on voyeurism. Separating the outer dark columns reveals storied imagery on the columns' inner surfaces. These underglaze painted images are my commentary on the vulnerability and hidden strength of women’s bodies as well as the Ocean. My representational paintings are informed by historical art, current events and the seas, all themes that form my personal experience as well as memories of the collective. I repaint (and modify) Renaissance Women Artist’s paintings. I am constantly amazed that the narratives they depicted in their artwork continue to be relevant in our contemporary times. On the back left column, I painted from Renaissance Woman Artist Artemisia Gentileschi’s painting Madalena Desmaiada. I painted her emerging from the darkness and changed the skull held in her hands to a nautilus to depict an environmental story.
Julia C R Gray, is a native California artist who sculpts ceramic torsos with layers of texture and painted narrative imagery. After working as a representational painter for decades, Gray returned to university, completing a BFA in 2014, with Honors, from San Francisco Art Institute. Gray has been awarded scholarships and art grants. Her images have been published in magazines, academic texts and chosen as the cover for MODIFIED Living as a Cyborg, published 2021. Gray’s work is collected nationally. Selected exhibitions include Customs House Museum, Clarksville, TN; CUSP Gallery, Provincetown, MA; The California Clay Competition, Davis, CA; San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, CA; Oceanside Museum of Art, CA; Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute, CA; CSU Dominguez Hills, Los Angeles, CA; The Women’s Museum of California, San Diego, CA; and The American Museum of Ceramics, Pomona, CA.