ARTIST STATEMENT
In 2016, I began my recent series of “lace paintings”. They are acrylic on canvas, painting and drawing a lace look with brushes and markers. It is my natural way to draw and allows me to create the detailed work of a 36 x 36 in. canvas in a few months’ time each. I started to add shadows and used the technique of tromp l’oeil.
After several years, the next step for the work was to create the lace. Learning to tat lace was interesting to me, but I was anxious to get out my ideas, and tatting is extremely labor intensive. I created a way to mimic the lace look of my paintings, but off the canvas where they can be made in multiple editions, like prints. The lace paintings have become lace objects and have realized the idea that I would like to convey with this work a message rather than a decorative doily.
My work revolves around fundamental opposing concepts of good and evil, feminism, equality, gun control, animal activism, and motherhood. The lace for me is a way to communicate these controversial topics with a feminine edge that may be looked over. That is part of the appeal for me that the work is not for everyone.
I am working on larger pieces and experimentation of materials. The future of the lace paintings will utilize other disciplines and techniques.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Julie Carcione is a visual artist living and working in Sonoma, CA. She has a background as a multidisciplinary artist, at the core of her practice is drawing and painting. Her subject matter is centers around perceived domestic and feminine crafts, such as lace and crochet, with the weight of the relevant social issues of today. Carcione began her professional career at the Academy of Art College University of San Francisco and earned her MFA in painting from Rhode Island School of Design. Her work has been shown in exhibitions across the United States including Di Rosa Preserve Napa, San Diego Museum of Art, Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Reece Museum, Prince Street Gallery, Beacon Gallery, Sonoma County Museum.
© Julie Carcione