Julie Schapman
The colourful surreal works of Dutch Canadian painter Julie Schapman are far more than beautiful: they are deeply fascinating. By combining her dedication to line and form with an intensity of colour, applying her technical skill to striking themes and subjects, Schapman creates images that capture the imagination of the viewer and take them to unforeseen realms. Within each painting, Schapman seeks to bring the viewer on an adventure, to a place where they are able to see beyond the pretty picture to the subtexts, meanings, and great humour hidden within.
Much of Schapman’s art is a tribute to a lifelong love of nature and a continuous exploration into culture's anthropomorphism of animals across time and geography. Above all, Schapman is inspired by the images she encounters in her dreams. It is this bridge between her sleeping and waking world where most of her ideas emerge, and thus Schapman’s art has evolved into an extension of her subconscious. As she explains, “I know now that the world is my canvas and that I can paint anything, on anything. It’s the recognition between self and nature that summarizes my work.”
Agora Gallery, NY, December 2015
The colourful surreal works of Dutch Canadian painter Julie Schapman are far more than beautiful: they are deeply fascinating. By combining her dedication to line and form with an intensity of colour, applying her technical skill to striking themes and subjects, Schapman creates images that capture the imagination of the viewer and take them to unforeseen realms. Within each painting, Schapman seeks to bring the viewer on an adventure, to a place where they are able to see beyond the pretty picture to the subtexts, meanings, and great humour hidden within.
Much of Schapman’s art is a tribute to a lifelong love of nature and a continuous exploration into culture's anthropomorphism of animals across time and geography. Above all, Schapman is inspired by the images she encounters in her dreams. It is this bridge between her sleeping and waking world where most of her ideas emerge, and thus Schapman’s art has evolved into an extension of her subconscious. As she explains, “I know now that the world is my canvas and that I can paint anything, on anything. It’s the recognition between self and nature that summarizes my work.”
Agora Gallery, NY, December 2015