BIO

Julie Pawlowski (b. 1977) is an LA based interdisciplinary artist working in analog and digital photography as well as collage, oil, and watercolor. Known for her gentle approach incorporating all mediums, her work starts behind the camera as a form of exploration and documentation. Her photographic projects often involve wandering urban landscapes and communities taking special interest in abandoned spaces and locations impacted by forced migration. Similarly, her abstract paintings draw inspiration from her extensive travels documenting diverse landscapes with her camera. Using emotional broad strokes and layers both applied and removed, Julie captures the essence of our relationship to land and place. In the last decade, she has documented her explorations including North America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Switzerland, and Iceland. With each medium, she creates compelling images which represent our human connection to each other and place by exposing societal hidden narratives through juxtaposition, layers, and items left behind. Since 1999, Julie’s work has been exhibited internationally including China and the United States in both solo and group exhibitions. 

HER STORY

Some of my fondest memories as a child include rifling through photo albums curated by my grandparents. My grandma documented personal travels and family events in albums with each image carefully labelled in her handwritten script.  Equally captivating was the photo album left by my late grandfather. I often found myself sitting for hours captivated by each black and white WWII image he’d so bravely captured and brought home from his time as a soldier in Germany. I longed to see what he witnessed and felt a deep connection to this grandfather whom I’d never be able to meet. From an early age, I was learning photography’s role in documenting family and world history. I was also experiencing how an image can create a human connection spanning time and place. Gifted my grandfather’s camera in high school, I started my journey into discovering the magic behind capturing light and documenting the stories of those around me. Painting quickly became an extension to my artistic process allowing me to reference my photographic images and build upon the emotion and stories captured and felt.