Julia Gräb Newcomer 2014
The exhibition Newcomer 2014 presents paintings and drawings by emerging art academy student Julia Gräb from September 27 to November 15, 2014. Newcomer is a regular exhibition series at Galerie SHI FANG Fine Art that showcases new positions in contemporary abstract art. It offers talented young artists the opportunity for a solo exhibition in their space.
Born in Düsseldorf in 1991, painter and photographer Julia Gräb has been studying at the local art academy since 2010. Since 2012, she has been a student in the class of Dresden painter Prof. Eberhard Havekost. The detailed organic structures in her works, which appear as indistinct surreal forms from a distance, captivate the viewer. Only upon closer inspection do the tiny individual components become recognizable, coming together to create a fascinatingly shaded formation.
Julia Gräb draws inspiration from the delicate system of cells and tissues in the human body. She uses the microscopic building blocks of all living organisms as the starting point for her abstractions. Through meticulous, time-consuming work, she draws, mostly with pen and ink, particle by particle until the entire background is covered. Gräb employs various types of building blocks; sometimes they resemble elongated grains of rice, other times they are circular swirls, and at times she only outlines them or fills them in. Each of her works has its own sprawling cell system. Like the cells of living organisms, the individual cell elements relate to one another and align themselves accordingly. From unpredictable masses that sometimes condense and sometimes loosen, systems emerge that populate the entire surface of the artwork. Julia Gräb explores the different effects that round or angular shapes can achieve in an uncontrollable mass performance.
How many small elements can come together to form a larger whole, and how their impact can vary with just minimal variations in form.
The effect of the cell patterns is determined not only by their arrangement but also by the color of the background. Gräb experiments with different colors, sometimes bold, sometimes lighter, and with gradients that help create a sense of depth and convey the feeling of the cells moving. The process of her work is as important to Julia Gräb as the final result. The patient, constant repetition of the same shapes and the precise variations of her cell choreographies require a high level of concentration from the painter and put her in a meditative state. She does not dictate the shapes herself but allows the structure to guide her. The autonomous forms that emerge captivate her just as much as they do the viewer.