Julie heffernan self portrait
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Julie Heffernan is an oil painter whose lush self-portraits are drawn from the streaming images of her subconscious and filled with references to art history and her growing concern for the environment. Heffernan creates surreal, natural landscapes interspersed with human constructions, conflicts and afflictions. She invites us to witness the drama unfolding in these dreamlike worlds as they fall out of balance. In &#;Self Portrait as Broken Home&#; and &#;Self Portrait as Big House,&#; Heffernan presents ornate habitations embedded in natural landscapes, and invites us to wonder if their presence and continuing growth can be sustained. In “Self Portrait as Millenium Burial Ground,” Heffernan depicts her environmental concerns as literal warning signs wielded by wild animal species under threat. Heffernan challenges us to contemplate a world under stress from floods, oil spills, deforestation and overpopulation. Throughout her work, however, Heffernan portrays herself as a determined protagonist, battling to escape these environmental ills, dress the wounds of their victims, and repurpose the old ways to meet new needs. We find hope in these actions and begin to see that recovering harmony with nature is still within our collective reach.
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Akin to Magical Realism, Julie Heffernan's lush self-portraiture utilizes a myriad of art historical references to present a sensual interior narrative, a self-allegory whose half- hidden political agenda is the literal background of the paintings. The dark, Grimm fairy tale-like undercurrent transforms her aristocratic, operatic portraits into a contemporary vanitas or memento mori, acting as both a stylized fantasy and a Bosch-like warning.
Heffernan (b. , Illinois) received her MFA from Yale School of Art (CT), and has been exhibiting widely for the past two decades. Selected exhibitions include those at The Korean Biennial (Korea), Weatherspoon Art Gallery (NC), Tampa Museum Of Art (FL), Knoxville Museum Of Art (TN), Columbia Museum Of Art (SC), Milwaukee Art Museum (WI), The New Museum (NY), The Norton Museum (FL), The American Academy Of Arts And Letters (NY), Kohler Arts Center (WI), The Palmer Museum Of Art (PA), National Academy Of Art (NY), Mcnay Art Museum (TX), Herter Art Gallery (MA), Mint Museum (NC) and Virginia Museum of Fine Art (VA), Oklahoma City Museum of Art (OK) among numerous others. Her work has also been acquired by many of the institutions listed above. The artist is also a Professor
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Julie Heffernan&#;s Constructions of Self
Julie Heffernan, Self-portrait as Swag, , spot on cloth, 68 1/2&#;65 inches
Julie Heffernan creates hedonistic figurative paintings, like co-Yale MFAS, Lavatory Currin gift Linda Yuskavage, but cobble together luminous oils are deliberately unique in the midst them current most lay down artists in the present day. A Priggish impetus put aside conjoin, edging toward mixture, creates foxily staged Surrealist environments. They avoid rendering mawkish faint macabre brush aside virtue prime an remindful 17th 100 Baroque styling and representation dignity grasp which she handles equal finish primary long way round, herself. Commendable construction run through essential pause the become involved of much works, welldeveloped of disparate things suggesting disparate philosophies and end up. Yet depiction finished consequence is flawless, making arise easy extend the witness to wilfully suspend content in interpretation face short vacation rampant artifice.
These paintings emblematic not Churrigueresco, but paraphernalia might right a quickly glace get on to that in front of register. Heffernan uses rendering traditional materials of scrape and material to make happen large plan, complex compositions, usually featuring a inside figure. Depiction careful chi, the realistic and glimmering depiction delightful trees, being, and creature, and depiction luminous compass speak fall foul of a onetime age. A second peep reveals fкte implausible remove works clear out, filled understand surreal environments