Julie Davidson

BORN 1955   Melbourne, Australia

STUDIES

1977   Studied Painting and Drawing at Prahran College of Advanced Education
1979   Travelled to England and Europe
1990   Travelled to Italy to study works of Carravaggio and Piero della Francesca
2007   Art Study tour to Northern Italy
2011   Travelled to UK and France to investigate works of Claude Lorrain

Backgound

Julie has produced a number of commissioned portraits and works are represented in private and corporate collections in Australia and overseas

“Intrinsically philosophical, still lifes can’t help becoming a commentary on the nature of being, of time; theirs is a dialogue between material and immaterial” (Colin Eisler).

Julie Davidson’s paintings could be described as romantic realism. Within these works the impact of realism is immediate, even more so because the object often stands alone and isolated, hiding within a symbolism that is both historically grounded and idiosyncratic. Romanticism combines the imaginative and emotional to produce a grand, idealised view of reality.

“Still life invites us to meditate on beauty, mortality and truth. In my work, I employ the techniques of the old masters, using the art of the past to inform present practice; I also use digital photography, a tool of the present, to arrest time and capture it at a precise moment.

I place objects in bright sunlight with defined shadows to exaggerate the sense of time. This use of dramatic light, drapery and the dark, brooding Baroque palette creates a serious, monumental atmosphere into which I place simple, everyday objects. I also focus on capturing the poignancy of a beautiful moment, its fleeting nature, its impermanence.” – Julie Davidson

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2013   Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne VIC
2013   Linton and Kay Fine Art Gallery, Perth WA
2012   Linton and Kay Fine Art Gallery, Perth WA
2011   Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Sydney NSW
2010   Linton and Kay Fine Art Gallery, Perth WA
2009   Linton and Kay Fine Art Gallery, Perth WA
2008   Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery Sydney NSW
2007   Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery Sydney NSW
2007   Linton and Kay Fine Art Gallery, Perth WA
2006   Linton and Kay Fine Art Gallery, Perth WA
2006   Lynne Wilton Gallery, Melbourne
2005   Linton and Kay Fine Art Gallery, Perth WA
2005   Lynne Wilton Gallery, Armadale
2003   The Gallery, Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn
2002   203 Canterbury Rd Gallery, Canterbury
1995   Riebl Gallery, Hawthorn
1993   Riebl Gallery, Hawthorn
1992   Riebl Gallery, Hawthorn
1988   Reflections Gallery, Canterbury

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2014   Group Exhibitions, Flinders Lane Gallery
2014   Finalist, Mandoorla Art Prize
2014   EMSLA Still Life Award, Coffs Harbour Regional Art Gallery
2007/8   Group Exhibitions, LK Galleries, Perth WA
2007   Melbourne Art Fair
2006   Melbourne Art Fair
2004   Highly Commended Camberwell Rotary Art Show
2003   Feature Artist Canterbury Art Show
2002   Melbourne Grammar Art Show
2001   Melbourne Grammar Art Show
2001   MLC Art Show
2000   Runner up in Warwick Regional Gallery Art Prize
1996   Finalist in Mandorla Art Prize
1996   Finalist in Blake Prize for Religious Art