48x33in., Hand-Punched Yarn, Monks Cloth, Oil and Oak
2022, 51.5x72x3in. Hand-Punched Yarn, Oil, Oak, Apoxie-Sculpt, Rope
12x16in., 2021, Oil on Cotton Paper
Oil on Cotton Paper, 12x16in., 2020
Oil on Cotton Canvas, 31.5x33in., ,2020
Acrylic on Acid Free Paper, 9x12in., 2020
Acrylic on Archival Paper, 9x12in., 2020
Oil on Archival Paper, 9x12in., 2020
Oil on Cotton Paper, 9x12in., 2020
Oil on Canvas, 28x36in., 2020
Oil on Cotton Paper, 12x16in., 2020
12x16in., Oil on Cotton Paper, 2021
12x16in., 2021, Oil on Cotton Paper
24x33in., 2021, Yarn, Monks Cloth, Oil, and Oak
14x24x6in., 2021, Epoxi Sculpt, Oak, Oil, Battery Operated Candles and Swarovski Crystals
Oil on Cotton Canvas, 28x36in., 2019
Oil on Cotton Canvas, 24x44in., 2019
40x30in., Oil on Cotton Canvas, 2018
24x30in., Oil on Cotton Canvas, 2018
30x30in., Oil on Cotton Canvas, 2018
24x20in., Oil on Cotton Canvas, 2018
28x48in., Oil on Self Primed Cotton Canvas, 2019
28x36in., Oil on Cotton Canvas, 2019
12x16in., Oil and Swarovski Crystal on Arches 100% Cotton Oil Paper, 2017
12x16in., Oil on Arches 100% Cotton Oil Paper, 2017
12x16in., Oil on Arches 100% Cotton Oil Paper, 2017
36x48in., Oil on Hand Stretched Cotton Canvas, 2017
12x12in., Oil on Canvas, 2017
30x40in., Oil on Canvas, 2017
12x16in., Oil on Archival Arches Paper, 2017
18X24in., Oil on Canvas, 2017
18X24in., Oil on Self Primed Canvas, 2017
(Dedicated to Bill Morse and the Landmine Relief Fund team in Siem Reap), 18x24in., Oil on Self Primed Canvas, 2017
12x16in., fake paper currency and Visa acquired from the streets and stores in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Battambang and New York, 2017
12x16in., Oil on Arches 100% Cotton Oil Paper, 2018
Vinyl Menu Custom Made in Siem Reap, Cambodia, 48x48in., 2018
Readymade, Found in Psar Chas (Old Market), Siem Reap, 2018
Readymade, Found in Psar Chas (Old Market), Siem Reap, 2018
Readymade, Found in Psar Chas (Old Market), Siem Reap, 2018
Readymade, Found in Psar Chas (Old Market), Siem Reap, 2018
Readymade, Found in Psar Chas (Old Market), Siem Reap, 2018
Readymade, Found in Psar Chas (Old Market, Siem Reap, 2018
Readymade, Found in Psar Chas (Old Market), Siem Reap, 2018
Readymade, Old Menu Version Acquired from Red Restaurant, Night Market, Siem Reap, 2018
Installation Shot of Same Same But Different, One Eleven Gallery, 2018 (Cambodian Flag+United States Flag)
Installation Shot, One Eleven Gallery, Siem Reap, Cambodia 2018
Installation Shot, Same Same But Different, One Eleven Gallery, Siem Reap, Cambodia 2018
12x16in., Oil on Arches 100% Cotton Oil Paper, 2016
12x16in., Oil and Goldleaf on Arches 100% Cotton Oil Paper, 2015
12X16in., Oil and Goldleaf on Arches 100% Cotton Oil Paper, 2015
12x16in., Oil and Goldleaf on Arches 100% Cotton Oil Paper, 2015
12x16in., Oil and Goldleaf on Arches 100% Cotton Oil Paper, 2015
12x16in., Oil and Swarovski Crystals on Arches 100% Cotton Oil Paper, 2016
12x16in., Oil and Goldleaf on Arches 100% Cotton Oil Paper, 2015
12x16in., Oil and Goldleaf on Arches 100% Cotton Oil Paper, 2016
12x16in., Oil and Goldleaf on Arches 100% Cotton Oil Paper, 2016
12x16in., Oil and Goldleaf on Arches 100% Cotton Oil Paper, 2016
12x16in., Oil and Goldleaf on Arches 100% Cotton Oil Paper, 2016
12x16in., Oil, Swarovski Crystal and Chinese Sparkles on Arches 100% Cotton Oil Paper, 2016
Acrylic on Black Gesso Primed Panel, 2016
Have you ever seen the pale blue color of death? I’d never been so close to this color before the day I witnessed a man die before me on Maré Island, New Caledonia. It was the March of 2015 and I was on a one year anniversary holiday with my then boyfriend. We’d decided to celebrate with a 12 day cruise in the Pacific, as we’d initially met on a cruise. The celebration ended up turning into a cruise from hell - Before even embarking in Sydney, we were informed the ship would never make it to our primary location of Fiji due to a tropical cyclone coming up from the South and another cyclone coming down from the North, leaving our ship to precariously navigate between the both. The rest of our hopeful destinations included Vanuatu, Maré, New Caledonia, and Lifou, Loyalty Island. We were stuck at sea igniting a deep restlessness and the situation continued to disintegrate - ranging from my catching a feverish illness, to the cyclone then destroying our other main port of call in Vila, Vanuatu and killing dozens of locals, to our rapidly deteriorating relationship and the worst, witnessing the death of a man in what was supposed to have been paradise.
We arrived in Maré, New Caledonia disembarking ship and climbing directly into several large buses that took us 30 minutes to a relatively remote beach. As I looked out into the ocean I had an immediate sense of alarm. Right before the viewpoint of the horizon, the ocean seemed to break, creating a distinct straight line of a crashing wave. It was easy to see no one should ever go past that break, due to the reality of being swept away by large currents into the ocean. My lover and I hiked across the rocky, off-putting beach in order to make the best of our last port of call and put on our snorkeling gear to begin exploring. Our spirits were already so devastated and dampened but the sunshine was beginning to help as we stretched out on our towels and ate snacks after a long swim.
Suddenly, someone started frantically waving and screaming. “MY FATHER! MY FATHER,” he cried. A disabled man wearing arm braces was in a high state of distress while others dragged a man from the ocean. I remembered the younger man from the ship -- his father lovingly pushed him around the dining hall in his wheelchair - they were clearly on a bonding family trip. The mans body was limp and many started to surround him in a rush. My partner ran across the beach as he was trained in CPR as well and several, including him, began to perform rounds of CPR. “SOMEONE CALL AN AMBULANCE,” someone shouted. The island locals weren’t equipped to get medical help there quickly and it was fourty-five minutes before anyone from Maré even arrived to assist. We were left, all of us from the ship to try to save this man’s life.
“MORE TOWELS!,” someone cried. We gathered all the blue towels from the beach and created a wall to shield this scene from onlookers and children on the beach. We dug a trench to guard his body from the rising tide. I will never forget this stain on my memory: from under the wall of towels people held up to surround him, the man’s hand poked through and lay outstretched in front of me. The blue pallor of his skin was unlike anything I’d ever seen. The son had long since left the scene... and I think he knew it was the end. I watched him walk up and off the beach with his head down. “This can’t be it,” I thought.
Everyone continued to take turns breathing life back into the man, losing hope, then gaining hope as we thought the color had returned. Any sign... By the time the EMT did arrive they didn’t use a defibrillator on him as perhaps they should have... rather continued CPR. But it was too late. It was too late.
We covered the man with the blue towels. And there he lay in this Paradise of Maré, under all those blue towels. His body was carted back onto the ship and put into the morgue, while his son continued the rest of the way back to Sydney. What would that have been like to be his son and on the ship for the remainder of that horrible journey? Everyone was furious and crying and in shock who had witnessed this. Why didn’t the ship have medical assistance at this beach? We felt so let down and drained of any happiness.
I managed to obtain the son’s email address as when my partner and I were looking through the photographs from the day, we realized we had inadvertantly taken the last photograph ever of father and son, alive and walking toward the ocean. We learned through the email from his son Nathan, after sending the photograph that the man’s name was Brian James Dann. He wrote the following:
“Thank you so very much for the photo and for your lovely email I very much appreciate your kind thoughts and best wishes at this difficult time. It is quite haunting but also very special to have one last photo taken together, luckily my dad was facing the right way. I do take comfort in knowing that it was such a beautiful spot and I just hope dad passed away peacefully in that lovely warm water.
Please take comfort in knowing that the autopsy results have indicated that dad died from Ischaemic Heart disease ( commonly known as Coronary Artery disease) I know everyone did their best that day to save dad, but his heart had just given out and nothing could have saved him.
Julia, I would be honored if you could dedicate a painting in my father`s name. What a lovely tribute.
Kind Regards,
Nathan Dann”
This piece is created in honor of Brian James Dann, 20/01/1938 - 17/03/2015
10.5x14.25, Acrylic on Acid-Free Arches Paper, 2015, Collection of Mike Pescetto
10.5x14.25, Acrylic on Acid-Free Arches Paper, 2015
10.5x14.25, Acrylic on Acid-Free Arches Paper, 2015
10.5x14.25, Acrylic on Acid-Free Arches Paper, 2015
5.25x7in., Acrylic, and Gold/Silver/Copper Leaf on Vintage Sears Catalogue, 2015, Collection of Erin Fowler
30x24in., Oil on Canvas, 2014
35x35in., Oil on Canvas, 2014
23x29in., Oil on Canvas, 2014, Collection of Steve Conrad
36x48in., Oil on Canvas, 2014
Oil on Canvas, 36x36in., 2014
Oil on Canvas, 30x40in., 2014
24X30in., Oil on Canvas, 2013, Collection of Maria Boncza-Skrzynecki
36X48in., Oil Stick on Raw Linen, 2013
19.75X23.4in., Oil on Canvas, 2013
48X58in., Oil on Linen, 2014
72X48in., Oil Stick on Raw Linen, 2013
30x36in., Oil and Swarovski Crystals on Canvas, 2013, Collection of Ralph Smith
36x48in., Oil on Canvas, 2014
36x48in., Oil Stick and Oil on Raw Linen, 2013
28x36in., Oil on Canvas, 2014, Collection of Claire Molek and Jake Harper
36x48in., Oil on Linen, 2014, Collection of Peter Ludlow
30x30in., Oil on Canvas, 2013, Collection of Luci Dow and Lee Nichols
9x9in., Pencil and Prismacolor on Brown Strathmore Archival Paper, 2013, Collection of Halle Miroglotta
8x10in., Pencil and Prismacolor on Strathmore Paper, 2013, Collection of John W. Clark
6.5x9in., Pencil, Prismacolor and China Wax Crayon on Found Book, 2013, Collection of Kat Aleman
6.5x9in., Pencil, Prismacolor and China Wax Crayon on Found Book, 2013, Collection of John Lease
9x9in., Pencil and Prismacolor on Brown Strathmore Archival Paper, 2013, Collection of John W. Clark
6x12in., Pencil and Polychromos Faber-Castell on Archival Paper, 2014
6.5x9in., Pencil, Prismacolor and China Wax Crayon on Found Book, 2013, Collection of Eric Kleinberg
8x10in., Pencil and Prismacolor on Strathmore Archival Paper, 2013, Collection of John W. Clark
6.5x9in., Pencil, Prismacolor and China Wax Crayon on Found Book, 2013, Collection of John W. Clark
6.5x9in., Pencil, Prismacolor and China Wax Crayon on Found Book, 2013, Collection of John W. Clark
9x7.5in., Pencil and Prismacolor on Brown Strathmore Archival Paper, Collection of Claire Molek
9x12in., Graphite on Archival Rough Paper, 2013, Collection of Peter Ludlow
6.5x9in., Pencil, Prismacolor and China Wax Crayon on Found Book, 2013, Collection of Claire Molek
6.5x9in., Pencil, Prismacolor and China Wax Crayon on Found Book, 2013, Collection of John W. Clark
9x9in., Pencil and Prismacolor on Strathmore Archival Paper, Collection of Halle Miroglotta
6.5x9in., Pencil, Prismacolor and China Wax Crayon on Found Book, 2013, Collection of Elizabeth Frances
6.5x9in., Pencil, Prismacolor and China Wax Crayon on Found Book, 2013, Collection of Mike Stus
12x12in., Pencil and Polychromos Faber-Castell on Paper
9x9in., Pencil and Prismacolor on Archival Black Paper, 2013, Collection of Heidi Chankin
21x24.75in., Oil on Canvas, Paper, 2011, Collection of Lee Nichols
28x30in., Oil on Canvas, 2010, Collection of Sandbox Industries
25x21.5in., Oil on Canvas, 2010
27x21in., Oil on Canvas, 27x21in., 2011
25x21.25in., Oil on Canvas, 2010
18x24in., Oil on Linen, 2013
40x24in., Oil on Canvas, 2013
24x30in., Oil on Canvas, 2013
14x17in., Oil and Goldleaf on Canvas, 2013
Dimensions N/A, Oil on Canvas, Goldleaf Archival Paper, Constructed Box with Acquired Wood, Light, Plastic Flowers, and the Nightgown my Grandmother wore when she died.
Personal Photograph of My grandmother's nightgown on Clothesline, Death: January 27th, 2012
40x30in., Oil on Linen, 2013
8x9in., Oil and Loose Leaf Gold Paper Axes, mounted to Archival Paper, 2012
Vintage Photograph with "Eventually You Give in to the Farm" study
Dimensions N/A, Paper and Canvas Mounted to Antique Light Box, 2013
9x12in., Black and White self Processed Photograph, 2003
9x12in., Oil on Canvas, 2019
“Goya”
30x40in., Oil on Canvas, 2016-2017, Collection of Bryn Sherman
24x24in., Oil on Canvas, 2012, Collection of Marc van der Aart
36x40in., Oil on Canvas, 2007-2012
8.5x11in., Oil on Paper, 2012, Collection of Annette Sollars
36x48in., Oil and Goldleaf on Canvas, 2009
“Chicago Relic,” Installation View. Gold Leaf, Swarovski Crystal and Oil Paint on Canvas, Candles, Natural Flora, Coins and Incense
“Try as you will, you cannot annihilate that eternal relic of the human heart, love.” Victor Hugo
By Julia Haw
As Governor Rauner attempted to partly “remedy” the $6 billion gap in the projected 2016 state budget, it was as if he took out a machete in the rainforest and began with many confusing and irrational “slashes.” One of his ideas to shave off a bit of annual cost, (6.29 million) was to strike at the hearts of many citizens, and threaten to close all five Illinois State Museum locations. At the start of the fiscal year on July 1st, 2015, none of the works housed in any of the locations had insurance, forcing the directors and staff to return all pieces to the artists. This is with the exception of the location in Springfield which houses some 13.5 million artifacts, which necessitate HVAC. My traveling series “The Western Veil,” previously shown in 2014 at the Thompson location (and then at the Lockport location), comprised of 36 works, was returned to me June 22nd. I promptly disseminated all the purchased works. I met with Lockport museum director John Lustig shortly thereafter, as he had just met with Lockport mayor Steven Streit. The mayor said “I really think you should still have an opening July 31, as I’m a fan of Julia’s work. Let’s figure out something.” We began planning theinstallation of “Chicago Relic.”
When I ruminated on a response painting to this whole political mess, my mind kept returning to the Chicago pay boxes for parking. I found the whole idea ridiculous, ugly and somewhat upsetting. Why was my intuition turning to this object, of all the objects in Illinois? Who would want to look at this it, let alone find it at all precious or beautiful? And how was this internally hounding idea connected to the current conversation? I have always been one to run into the heart of discomfort. I had to do it. I realized “Chicago Relic” is not just a response to governor Bruce Rauner’s threats to close all five ISM institutions, it is a response to the state’s ongoing and historical responses of permanent, often horrible, solutions for temporary issues. Furthermore, the piece acts as an imagined depiction of a recreated alter, as seen from a future vantage, an installation 500 years from now, in a museum. Similar to the way we greet a Lingam (a spiritual token, image of God, or emblem connected to the penis) the Chicago Pay Box glitters, replete in it’s 23K regalia, a symbol of our contemporary visual alphabet. We must offer foreign coins, power objects and flowers to the relic of the past. We must light “money” incense and Copal as offering. We must remember the pay box. It is what I imagine we would revere and study if most of our cultural institutions continued to disappear, the artifacts washed away in political leverage and budget balancing. We have to accept, this IS our current language here in Chicago particularly, and we all know what it means.
Chicago and the state of Illinois is infamously known for corrupt mayors, governors and political figures. This is classic Chicago: “a reliance on long-term debt to cover short-term expenditures.” (Heather Gillers, Chicago Tribune) To further explain the pay box mess, Mayor Daley privatized and sold all 36,000 meters to Morgan Stanley in 2008 for a sum of $1.157 billion dollars for a 75 year lease. He shirked the alderman, who weren’t given the information until a few short days before the deal was cut. Even then, most of them didn’t understand what this would mean. Alderman Scott Waguespack, pointed out the seemingly obvious, that the company would make far more than 1.2 billion dollars over the next 75 years. Upon the closure of the deal, Morgan Stanley promptly went to two third parties, one in Abu Dhabi (The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority) and another, Redoma SARL, in Luxembourg, (thewire.com). Each year these foreign companies make incrementally more money. Even Rahm has said "A city normally known for its differences has come together in universal anger over the deal.” (DNAinfo.com, 2013)
We must also acknowledge Mayor Daley sold the Chicago Skyway in 2005, for $1.83 billion to the Cintra-Macquarie Consortium, based in Spain and Australia, for 99 years. Then in 2006, “Daley leased four parking garages under Millennium Park and Grant Park for 99 years, to a division of Morgan Stanley for $563 million.” (Ben Joravsky, chicagoreader.com, 2009)
Looping back in, the conversation of Chicago’s longstanding financial woes and short term solutions merely continues with Governor Rauner’s proposal to close all five Illinois State Museum buildings. Sadly, no shock here. But where do all these decisions lead us as a unique culture? The more we deny our cultural platforms - essentially our historical language, the more we are left with a very flat and lackluster discourse, devoid of the richness that has brought us to where we exist as a society. We drift through the streets each day. We see trees, and brick stones. We see the beautiful lakefront, and AL’s Beef. We see the river and the Hancock. We see the Chicago skyline. We see parking boxes. This is our daily visual language. These are our totems.
Thank you for reading and LONG LIVE CULTURE!!!!!
Julia Haw
“Chicago Relic,” was on display through July-November 2015 in the Illinois State Museum, Lockport, IL. With sincere gratitude to the real sponsors: The City of Lockport, Illinois and Mayor Steven Streit with Mrs. Wendy Streit, and sincerest thanks to Claire Molek and John Lustig.
48x28in., Oil and Swarovski Crystal on Canvas, 2013, Collection of Robert Brandel
36x48in., Oil on Canvas, 2007, (first oil painting ever executed), Collection of Bill Welter
24x30in., Acrylic on Canvas, 2006, Collection of Kristen Snyder
9x12in., 2018, Oil on Cotton Paper, Collection of John Clark
20x24in., 2011, Oil and Handcut Paper on Canvas, Collection of Ralph Smith
9x12in., 2009, Oil on Paper, Collection of Steve Conrad (Cover of Glen Johnson’s (of Piano Magic) solo album)
9x12in., 2018, Oil on Cotton Paper, Collection of Sue Gunderman
9x12in., 2018, Oil on Cotton Paper, Collection of Casey McKittrick
15x16in., Oil on Hand Carved Wood (by Blair Waldmann), 2019
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generosity in supporting the arts. It makes all the difference in the quality of my life. I know art isn’t necessarily low-cost, but I do know those who have purchased my work believe in me and feel strongly in my longevity. My collectors haven’t just purchased works as an “investment” or future return, rather they truly love and connect with the integrity of the work and found they couldn’t live without a piece. Many become heirlooms for families.
39.25x27.5in., Oil on Canvas, 2023
REVOLUTION: ASHLEY DAVIS
Oil on Canvas, 28x36in., 2020
Rainbow in a Field of Daisies
24x33in., 2021, Yarn, Monks Cloth, Oil, and Oak
Urn
14x24x6in., 2021, Epoxi Sculpt, Oak, Oil, Battery Operated Candles and Swarovski Crystals
Bokator Twins, 2017, 36x48in., Oil on Self Primed Cotton Canvas
Four to Six, 2018, 12x16in., Oil on 100% Cotton Oil Paper
The King of Darkness, 2017, 12x12in., Oil on Canvas framed in Mahogany
Limp Dick, 2017, 12x16in., Oil on Arches 100% Cotton Oil Paper
AK47 Provided by the Chinese to the Khmer Rouge, 2017, 18x24in., Oil on Self Primed Cotton Canvas
War Torn Mannequin, 2017, 18x24in., Oil on Self Primed Cotton Canvas
The Ping Pong Champion of the World, 2015, 10.5x14.25, Acrylic on Acid-Free Arches Paper, framed
Oil and Goldleaf on Custom Carved Wood
“NYC Landlords,” 30x40in., Oil on Canvas, 2018
Nari’s Hands, 2014, 36x36in., Oil on Canvas
Money Shot, 2015, 12x16in., Oil and Goldleaf on Arches 100% Cotton Oil Paper
Acrylic on Canvas, 2008
The Last Meal, 2013, 36x48in., Oil Stick on raw linen
Gladys Nilsson II, 2014, 36x48in., Oil on Canvas
Comfort and Control, 2014, 36x48in., Oil on Canvas
The Gift, 2013, 36x48in., Oil Stick on raw linen
Modern Swear, 2009, 36x48in., Oil on Linen
The Fear of Matt Wysocki, 2010, 25x21.25in. (w/frame), Oil on Canvas
The Fear of Ray Noland, 2011, 27x21in. (w/frame), Oil on Canvas, Paper, Gold Powder
The Fear of Russell Joslin, 2010, 25x21.5in. (w/ frame), Oil on Canvas
Enveloped, or How I Felt with You, 2007-2012, 40x36in., Oil on Canvas
Blurred and Blurred and Blurred and Blurred, 2010, 18x18in. (object), 19.25x19.25 (w/frame), Wooden Panel, Oil, Archival Paper, Goldleaf
Human Fodder, 2006, 48x48in., Acrylic, Housepaint, String, Wood
**Best in Show at Western Michigan University, 2006
Compartmentalization 5:10PM, 2006, 40x30 (object), 44x36.5in. (w/ frame), Acrylic on Canvas
Compartmentalization 11:08PM, 2007, 31.5x25.5in., Oil on Linen
The Cancerous, 2006, 36x48in., Acrylic, String, Found Objects, Wood
Waiting to Wake Up, 2006, 40x38in., Acrylic, String, Wood
Chicago Relic, 2015, 36x48in., Oil and 23K Goldleaf on Canvas
