ARTIST STATEMENT
About the Portals Series: If art is the bridge between the imagined and the real, then frames are portals between these two realms. The pieces in this series are not contained by their found-object frames, but rather the frames create doorways that allow bits of my imagination to break into our shared physical reality. I have chosen birds for this series not only because the round shape of the frames is reminiscent of the openings to bird houses, but because birds have a way of appearing as if out of nowhere. Where did they come from, and where do they go? At first, these super-sized creatures appearing in human space can be a little unsettling, leading us to ask if they have found a way into our world, or if we have somehow found ourselves in theirs?
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Julia Kemerer is a mixed media artist and an avid maker of all things. She paints and sculpts with paper, found objects, fabric, wood, and clay, and has a passion for creative reuse, or what she refers to as “using what you have to make what you need.” Julia’s creations will often make appearances at Brushwood Center, a northern Illinois non-profit devoted to improving health equity through the arts and nature, where she has been the Art Director for over a decade. Through her work there, she curates shows and art markets, runs an art supply exchange, and teaches classes in addition to working behind the scenes on several area public arts projects. An online portfolio of her work can be found at juliakemerer.com. Julia attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and holds a degree in Art History from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She lives in northern Lake County, Illinois with her husband and daughter in a 100 year old lake house full of pets, art and plants.
© Julia Kemerer