Many thanks to “Herzstück” for featuring my work in their summer issue including selections from “Planting Utopia” and my recent solo exhibition in Cologne at Galerie Julian Sander.
Here is a rough/google translate version of the article:
The treasury of blossom souls
Artist Julia Whitney Barnes creates enchanted plant worlds
The flower arrangements reminiscent of historical Herbaria as we see them in Natural History Museums – only these ones radiate a lot more aesthetics, mystery and magic off. Which stories they have to tell? And are they actually made from dried plants like a classic herbarium?
If we look at Julia Whitney Barnes' pictures, we embark on a mystical journey around the world. They are reminiscent of historical herbaria on which dried flowers were pasted, collected and identified. At first glance, however, it is difficult to say: are Julia's flowers actually real or painted?!
Behind the pictures is a long creative process that requires patience and attention to detail. The 44-year-old collects herbs and flowers in her home in the Hudson Valley (New York State), which she drapes and presses beautifully.
From the dried flower arrangements, she makes so-called "cyanotypes" on cotton paper. It is an old photographic fine printing process that is based on iron (and not on silver as in normal photographs). This is how blue negatives come to life on the cotton paper. Since sunlight would start the complex exposure process, she withdraws to the attic studio of her house at night. Next, she applies layers of watercolor, gouache, and ink—even preferably at night, when her husband and two children are asleep: “On a clear night, filtered through my reflection in a skylight, I can see the full moon surrounded by thousands of sparkling ones Stars. My skylights become portals to heavenly space that inspire my nocturnal activities,” says Julia – which also reminds us of her multi-layered paintings! "I work in solitude while everyone else in the family is sound asleep, but I never feel alone. I am surrounded by the night sky, music that stirs my soul and a colourful, vibrant watercolor and gouache palette.”
Her special "nightshade plants" often appear as if they consist of three-dimensional pressed flowers - an illusion. "When my work is viewed in person, it is more obvious that the work only contains layers of pigment," she says. If you are interested, you can admire some of her works of art in the Julian Sander gallery in Cologne (see www.galeriejuliansander.de). "I want each painting to be familiar and yet be a little out of time," the artist describes it. We think she succeeds. Her pictures resemble a glimpse into the treasury of mysteriously enchanted flower souls. Which one do you like best?