Julia Townsend explores contradictions and hypocrisy in open-ended narratives about materialism, love, war, and
meaningful (and meaningless!) words and phrases. Living in different countries allowed her to view cultures and
languages from different perspectives. She intermingles surrealism, cubism, and Middle Eastern design in drawing
and painting, including relief paintings and installations. From murals to sculpture, she invents characters that find
themselves in Rube Goldberg-ian situations. She also makes landscapes of real places, where something strange is
often going on.
After many years in Europe and the Middle East, Townsend (b.1965, Sewickley, PA) now lives and works in
Edenton, North Carolina, USA. Four of her paintings hang on the 100th floor of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Sponsored by Jotun Paints, Townsend had the opportunity to work plein-air in the Straight of Hormuz during a
paddle trip around the Musandam. She holds a certificate in Tezhip- the intricate designs that border the calligraphy
in the Koran - from the Topkapi Palace. Townsend’s work has been exhibited at the Robert C. Williams Museum
of Papermaking at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the SIKKA Art Fair (Dubai), and XVA Gallery (Dubai).
Her exhibitions have been featured in Panorama Magazine (Dubai), Marie Claire (Turkish Version), and
Die Tageszeiting (Berlin). Townsend has won an Artist Support Grant from the North Carolina Arts Council,
a Fellowship from the Vermont Studio Center, and a tuition scholarship from the American Association of
University Women. Her work is in the collection of Koç University (Istanbul), Diera Tower Estates (Dubai),
Thomas Klein International (Dubai office), and private collections in 11 countries. She holds an MFA from the
University of Delaware, and a BA from Vassar College.
Earlier work at www.juliatownsend.com