The Windows Project by the California Contemporary Art Collective
A catalog of the windows exhibit at the historic Warnors Theatre in downtown Fresno, featuring articles on Juliana Harris, Anne Scheid, Trude McDermott, Donnalee Dunne, Nanete Make-Dearsan, LInda Koch, Rob Weibel and Joan Sharma. Introduction by Jacquelin Pilar, curator at the Fresno Art Museum (1980 - 2009). Essays by California State University, Fresno Professor of Art History Gina Strumwasser. Available on Blurb.com.
State of the Art - Juliana Harris
by Aileen Imperatrice
Fresno Magazine, December 2010
Blessed with supportive, culturally involved parents, Juliana Harris had attention and supplies to engage her creativity as early as three or four years of age. She first thought herself an artist in elementary school, and especially when in tenth grade her art teacher took her interest seriously. Her high school and college art was realistic and she considered portrait painting. Eventually confident of her representational skills, she moved into abstraction. This new focus allowed her to trust her intuition, influencing her approach and technique.
Describing herself as a semi-abstractionist, Juliana allows movement between realism and abstraction within each painting, making the journey an act of discovery. This journey led to painting water, giving her the feeling of being "swept away into an entirely different world" and would lead to a defining point in her career. Debuting in 2008, 'Dusk on Lucy's Pond' began an on-gong series of paintings of water and sky and the place where they meet, using multiple perspectives and dropping horizon lines. This series was named by the Fresno Bee as one of the top 20 cultural events that year - a distinction that is especially meaningful to Juliana because after painting so intensely, "I had no idea if anyone would respond," she said. The water theme continues now, including the San Joaquin River and seasonal creeks on her property.
Choosing oil paint and soft pastel as her favorite medium has meant working with non-toxic water-miscible oils since surviving breast cancer. Once in studio, Juliana prefers silence, opting only for sounds of reality. She admits to making false starts before knowing she is painting without hesitation or expectations, to then create from within her core being.
This month, then April and October 2011, find her work in Fig Tree Gallery, In addition to exhibiting in local galleries including Fig Tree, City arts and the Fresno Art Museum, she has shown in Carmel at the Savage Gallery and in Oakland at the Christensen-Heller Gallery. She also exhibits with the California Contemporary Art Collective group in Fresno and in Los Angeles. Her newest focus is out of town and juried shows. Juliana feels Fresno has been generous, rewarding and believes it to be a great place to live and paint. Her wish is that beyond just seeing art, people experience a moment and enter the stillness.
Hop, skip or jump over to ArtHop by Donald Munro, Arts Critic
The Fresno Bee, "Life" section, page 1, Thursday, November 5, 2009
Juliana Harris represents the California Contemporary Art Collective with a new exhibit titled "14 Waterfalls" in the windows of the historic Warnors Theatre, 1400 Fulton St. The collective has been rotating the display among its member artists. Harris' exhibit will be on view through December. She notes that she chose waterfalls as a public art project because she liked the idea of focusing on the most hotly debated topic in this Valley. "Waterfalls not only represent power; they are power," she writes. "Their uncontrollable force is dependent upon a lasting source. There are many metaphors one can draw; suffice it to say, they are icons worthy of contemplation, and they are large, bold, vertical shapes perfect for the windows." Because the sun is setting early this time of year, ArtHoppers are encouraged to bring "flashlights, headlamps, lanterns, light sabers and other forms of portable light" to illuminate the windows from the sidewalk. Details: julianaharris.com.
Artists' works brighten gallery
The Fresno Bee, "7" section, page 4, Friday, May 15, 2009
Three powerhouse Fresno-area artists brighten the gallery space in the KYNO/KJWL gallery in downtown Fresno. Works by Donnalee Dunne, Juliana Harris and Trude McDermott are featured through May 29. The artists are members of The California Contemporary Art Collective, a group of eight artists who work to broaden their exhibition opportunities regionally and nationally.
Top 20 Cultural Events of 2008 by Donald Munro, Arts Critic
The Fresno Bee, Sunday Spotlight section, page 1, December 28, 2008
Juliana Harris, Fig Tree Gallery. Her "Dusk on Lucy's Pond"oil paintings gave a dramatic sense of water in different seasons,ranging from thundering white waterways to smooth, quiet pools.The transfixing quality of the show came from its ability to show water in layers: the shimmering surface and the murky depths below.
November ArtHop Delivers by Donald Munro, Arts Critic
The Fresno Bee, Sunday Spotlight section, page 1, November 10, 2008
Water is never perfectly still. Even when it's in a pond – no wind, no current, no splash – it's never static. Whether it's the shift of sunlight on a glassy surface, the descent of a leaf or the tiniest buzz of aquatic insect,water has a motion all its own if you stare long enough at it. That's what Juliana Harris did at a little, out-of-the-way pond in the Sierra foothills. Her new solo exhibit of oil paintings at Fig Tree Gallery (644 Van Ness Ave.) is inspired by the artist's repeated trips to a special place called "Lucy's Pond"on Finegold Creek, about a half hour's drive from Fresno. Her impressions of the water in different seasons, from thundering white waterways to smooth, quiet pools, give the show a retrospective sweep.Instead of putting these scenes in perspective, however – say, framing the water with land and sky to immediately signal our brains that this is a pond – she chooses to simply show us the water itself.
You get a sense of its layers: the shimmering surface and the murky depths below. Instead of just the re-creation of water, what you get is the recreating of the feeling of that water, which is a much more transformative experience. There are a couple of her works in the show that do have a figurative nod. Her "FloatingMoth," for example, is dominated by the outline of the insect in the small frame. (It's interesting that with the figure's trim outer shards of texture, my first thought was that I was looking at a human skull.) In "Tule," we get the sense of the shimmering grays and greens of a foggy day. My favorite is her "Dusk 13," in which her thick, wide brushstrokes suggest fallen leaves on the surface of the water – which has to be one of the most beautiful things you can see on a fall day.
Press
Fresno Magazine, December 2010, Juliana Harris - Art feature by Aileen Imperatrice
Hop, skip or jump over to ArtHop by D. Munro, The Fresno Bee, Life, p.1, Thur. 11/5/2009
Artists' works brighten gallery by D. Munro, The Fresno Bee,"7" section, p 4, Fri.5/15/2009
Top 20 Cultural Events of 2008 – Juliana Harris’ Dusk on Lucy’s Pond
by Donald Munro, Arts Critic, The Fresno Bee, Sunday Spotlight p1-2, 12/28/2008
November Art Hop Delivers by D. Munro, The Fresno Bee, Sunday Spotlight, 11/10/2008
Best Bets by D. Munro, The Fresno Bee, Sun., 9/13/2005
High Street Art, by David Hale, Arts Critic, The Fresno Bee, Mon. 7/1/2002
Fresno Art Museum, Special Publication for The Next Wave exhibit, 5/2002
Artist E Colony by Daniel Roberts, The Fresno Bee, Tue. 7/17/2001
Online Magazine Features Local Arts by Dorina Lazo, The Fresno Bee, Sun. 9/3/2000
Chairismatic Art by D. Hale, The Fresno Bee, Sun., 6/18/2000
Women Build Art with Hardware, by D. Hale, The Fresno Bee, Sunday, 9/26/99
Weathered Wood by Deborah Sanchez, Northeast Neighbors (Fresno Bee), Thurs., 10/ 7/99
Gallery Hopping by D. Hale, The Fresno Bee, Sunday, 5/31/98
A catalog of the windows exhibit at the historic Warnors Theatre in downtown Fresno, featuring articles on Juliana Harris, Anne Scheid, Trude McDermott, Donnalee Dunne, Nanete Make-Dearsan, LInda Koch, Rob Weibel and Joan Sharma. Introduction by Jacquelin Pilar, curator at the Fresno Art Museum (1980 - 2009). Essays by California State University, Fresno Professor of Art History Gina Strumwasser. Available on Blurb.com.
State of the Art - Juliana Harris
by Aileen Imperatrice
Fresno Magazine, December 2010
Blessed with supportive, culturally involved parents, Juliana Harris had attention and supplies to engage her creativity as early as three or four years of age. She first thought herself an artist in elementary school, and especially when in tenth grade her art teacher took her interest seriously. Her high school and college art was realistic and she considered portrait painting. Eventually confident of her representational skills, she moved into abstraction. This new focus allowed her to trust her intuition, influencing her approach and technique.
Describing herself as a semi-abstractionist, Juliana allows movement between realism and abstraction within each painting, making the journey an act of discovery. This journey led to painting water, giving her the feeling of being "swept away into an entirely different world" and would lead to a defining point in her career. Debuting in 2008, 'Dusk on Lucy's Pond' began an on-gong series of paintings of water and sky and the place where they meet, using multiple perspectives and dropping horizon lines. This series was named by the Fresno Bee as one of the top 20 cultural events that year - a distinction that is especially meaningful to Juliana because after painting so intensely, "I had no idea if anyone would respond," she said. The water theme continues now, including the San Joaquin River and seasonal creeks on her property.
Choosing oil paint and soft pastel as her favorite medium has meant working with non-toxic water-miscible oils since surviving breast cancer. Once in studio, Juliana prefers silence, opting only for sounds of reality. She admits to making false starts before knowing she is painting without hesitation or expectations, to then create from within her core being.
This month, then April and October 2011, find her work in Fig Tree Gallery, In addition to exhibiting in local galleries including Fig Tree, City arts and the Fresno Art Museum, she has shown in Carmel at the Savage Gallery and in Oakland at the Christensen-Heller Gallery. She also exhibits with the California Contemporary Art Collective group in Fresno and in Los Angeles. Her newest focus is out of town and juried shows. Juliana feels Fresno has been generous, rewarding and believes it to be a great place to live and paint. Her wish is that beyond just seeing art, people experience a moment and enter the stillness.
Hop, skip or jump over to ArtHop by Donald Munro, Arts Critic
The Fresno Bee, "Life" section, page 1, Thursday, November 5, 2009
Juliana Harris represents the California Contemporary Art Collective with a new exhibit titled "14 Waterfalls" in the windows of the historic Warnors Theatre, 1400 Fulton St. The collective has been rotating the display among its member artists. Harris' exhibit will be on view through December. She notes that she chose waterfalls as a public art project because she liked the idea of focusing on the most hotly debated topic in this Valley. "Waterfalls not only represent power; they are power," she writes. "Their uncontrollable force is dependent upon a lasting source. There are many metaphors one can draw; suffice it to say, they are icons worthy of contemplation, and they are large, bold, vertical shapes perfect for the windows." Because the sun is setting early this time of year, ArtHoppers are encouraged to bring "flashlights, headlamps, lanterns, light sabers and other forms of portable light" to illuminate the windows from the sidewalk. Details: julianaharris.com.
Artists' works brighten gallery
The Fresno Bee, "7" section, page 4, Friday, May 15, 2009
Three powerhouse Fresno-area artists brighten the gallery space in the KYNO/KJWL gallery in downtown Fresno. Works by Donnalee Dunne, Juliana Harris and Trude McDermott are featured through May 29. The artists are members of The California Contemporary Art Collective, a group of eight artists who work to broaden their exhibition opportunities regionally and nationally.
Top 20 Cultural Events of 2008 by Donald Munro, Arts Critic
The Fresno Bee, Sunday Spotlight section, page 1, December 28, 2008
Juliana Harris, Fig Tree Gallery. Her "Dusk on Lucy's Pond"oil paintings gave a dramatic sense of water in different seasons,ranging from thundering white waterways to smooth, quiet pools.The transfixing quality of the show came from its ability to show water in layers: the shimmering surface and the murky depths below.
November ArtHop Delivers by Donald Munro, Arts Critic
The Fresno Bee, Sunday Spotlight section, page 1, November 10, 2008
Water is never perfectly still. Even when it's in a pond – no wind, no current, no splash – it's never static. Whether it's the shift of sunlight on a glassy surface, the descent of a leaf or the tiniest buzz of aquatic insect,water has a motion all its own if you stare long enough at it. That's what Juliana Harris did at a little, out-of-the-way pond in the Sierra foothills. Her new solo exhibit of oil paintings at Fig Tree Gallery (644 Van Ness Ave.) is inspired by the artist's repeated trips to a special place called "Lucy's Pond"on Finegold Creek, about a half hour's drive from Fresno. Her impressions of the water in different seasons, from thundering white waterways to smooth, quiet pools, give the show a retrospective sweep.Instead of putting these scenes in perspective, however – say, framing the water with land and sky to immediately signal our brains that this is a pond – she chooses to simply show us the water itself.
You get a sense of its layers: the shimmering surface and the murky depths below. Instead of just the re-creation of water, what you get is the recreating of the feeling of that water, which is a much more transformative experience. There are a couple of her works in the show that do have a figurative nod. Her "FloatingMoth," for example, is dominated by the outline of the insect in the small frame. (It's interesting that with the figure's trim outer shards of texture, my first thought was that I was looking at a human skull.) In "Tule," we get the sense of the shimmering grays and greens of a foggy day. My favorite is her "Dusk 13," in which her thick, wide brushstrokes suggest fallen leaves on the surface of the water – which has to be one of the most beautiful things you can see on a fall day.
Press
Fresno Magazine, December 2010, Juliana Harris - Art feature by Aileen Imperatrice
Hop, skip or jump over to ArtHop by D. Munro, The Fresno Bee, Life, p.1, Thur. 11/5/2009
Artists' works brighten gallery by D. Munro, The Fresno Bee,"7" section, p 4, Fri.5/15/2009
Top 20 Cultural Events of 2008 – Juliana Harris’ Dusk on Lucy’s Pond
by Donald Munro, Arts Critic, The Fresno Bee, Sunday Spotlight p1-2, 12/28/2008
November Art Hop Delivers by D. Munro, The Fresno Bee, Sunday Spotlight, 11/10/2008
Best Bets by D. Munro, The Fresno Bee, Sun., 9/13/2005
High Street Art, by David Hale, Arts Critic, The Fresno Bee, Mon. 7/1/2002
Fresno Art Museum, Special Publication for The Next Wave exhibit, 5/2002
Artist E Colony by Daniel Roberts, The Fresno Bee, Tue. 7/17/2001
Online Magazine Features Local Arts by Dorina Lazo, The Fresno Bee, Sun. 9/3/2000
Chairismatic Art by D. Hale, The Fresno Bee, Sun., 6/18/2000
Women Build Art with Hardware, by D. Hale, The Fresno Bee, Sunday, 9/26/99
Weathered Wood by Deborah Sanchez, Northeast Neighbors (Fresno Bee), Thurs., 10/ 7/99
Gallery Hopping by D. Hale, The Fresno Bee, Sunday, 5/31/98