Julia Bollinger is a painter based in Virginia. She received her BA in Studio Art at Colorado College in 2005, and soon after became a printmaker and studio manager for Oehme Graphics. She then traveled to Florence, Italy to study classical painting from 2013-15. The following year, Julia moved to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia where she now resides.
She paints the fauna and terrain of her home, going on wanderings to discover a subject that is in its seasonal or successional peak. The painting sessions are immersive and expansive experiences of wonder with the subject. The work is a remnant of her devotion for a place and building a relationship with the land.
Working from life with a time limit of a few days gives a freshness and immediacy to the work that is impossible to capture otherwise. Tiny wings, seeds, and grass are sometimes encased in the surfaces, contained in the paintings like amber.
She has a deep gratitude for all of the life forms and people that have been caretakers of her home over the centuries—enabling her to observe, record, and take part.
EDUCATION
2015-16 Florence Academy of Art, Florence, Italy and Mana Contemporary, Jersey City, NJ
2006-2009 Colorado College, BA, Studio Art, Colorado Springs, CO
EXHIBITIONS AND ART FAIRS
2023 Art on Paper with Oehme Graphics, New York, NY
2023 Baltimore Fine Art Print Fair with Oehme Graphics, Baltimore, MD
2022 Printmaking in Floyd, Floyd Center of the Arts, Floyd, VA
2019 Velvet Ropes curated by Charlie Roberts, Shrine NYC and Sargent Daughters, New York, NY
2019 New River Art Biennial, Moss Center for the Arts, Blacksburg, VA
2019 New Voices, Floyd Center of the Arts, Floyd, VA
2018 Featured Artist, The Market Gallery, Roanoke, VA
2017 Taubman Museum Sidewalk Art Show, Roanoke, VA
2013 Behind the Scene: Oehme Graphics, Art Depot, Steamboat Springs, CO
2012 Make Studio Collective, Make Studio Gallery and Co-op, Steamboat Springs, CO
2011 In the Brush, Winter Group Show, K. Saari Gallery, Steamboat Springs, CO
2009 Internal Intricacies, Cossit Hall, Colorado Springs, CO
AWARDS/EXPERIENCE
2017 Best in Mixed Media Award, Taubman Museum Sidewalk Art Show, Roanoke, VA
2013 The Presidential Scholarship Fund Award, Anderson Ranch, Snowmass, CO
2010-13 Printmaker and Studio Manager, Oehme Graphics, Steamboat Springs, CO
NOTABLE COLLECTIONS
Robin Peake Stuart Collection, Chatham Hall, Chatham, VA
Oehme Graphics Permanent Collection, Steamboat Springs, CO
PUBLICATIONS
2024 Elle Decor, “This Cozy Hamptons Home Is a Breath of Fresh Air”, By Michael Diaz-Griffith and Styled by Howard Christian, Published Online: Aug 6, 2024
2024 Artemis Journal 2024, Volume XXXI, Edited by Jeri Rogers
2023 Milk Art Journal, June 2023, Vol.2, Body & Belonging, Edited by Katherine October Matthews