'Surface and Space' at Sikora Arts Gallery, New York

 

Four upcoming solo exhibitions which can be viewed online at Sikora Arts Gallery, New York next month.

I am delighted to have been invited to present my solo show 'Surface and Space' at the gallery from 1st March - 23rd April 2026.

Inaugural Exhibition of Abstract and Minimal Art, New York

The Inaugural Exhibition for Abstract and Minimal Art launches today at Sikora Arts Gallery, New York, USA.

1st January - 21st February 2026

A brilliant start to the year to be part of this online exhibition of curated works.

My five paintings are shown on the first floor, alongside three other painters.

Please see link below to explore the exhibition:

https://artspaces.kunstmatrix.com/en/exhibition/14940301/inaugural-exhibition-abstract-and-minimal-art-2026-1st-floor

i-D x Ray-Ban

 

Octagon (red)
Julie Umerle

I was absolutely delighted to hear the news that my painting Octagon (Red) has been selected as part of the i-D x Ray-Ban global competition - RED campaign! RED is a partnership between i-d and Ray-Ban that celebrates creative expression through the colour RED. My artwork was selected by judges made up of i-D’s and Ray-Ban’s Creative Teams.

 

i-D and Ray-Ban present RED. Before the name, there is a feeling. RED. The spark for the creative. The colour for the bold. The energy that creates what’s next. It is the thread connecting every artist and visionary; the belief that the brightest ideas deserve the boldest stage. This is a collaboration of pure optimism. A vivid snapshot of a world seen through a new filter. A way of seeing. A way of living. The official colour of right now.

UEL Archive

 

I am very proud that University of East London will house my archive as part of their Special Collections.

I still have some work to do before I have completed the project, but it is so wonderful to know that my archive will be cared for by them.

The archive has an important role in amplifying underrepresented voices and diversity, and as a tool for legacy and research. This is something that UEL is particularly passionate about. Very excited that my goal in preserving my history as an artist has been achieved.

Complementary material is held at Tate Library and The Women's Art Library, Goldsmiths University.

6th anniversary of 'Art, Life and Everything'

This year marks six years since the publication of my memoir 'Art, Life and Everything'. 

I have really enjoyed watching it gain an audience. It is so exciting to see my book out in the world and reaching out to people.

So on this occasion I'm posting a few photos of 'Art, Life and Everything' in such settings.

Enjoy!

The Library at Norwich University of the Arts

Waterstones, Canary Wharf, London

Waterstones, Walthamstow, London

Wimbledon Bookshop, London

Bloomberg Connects

  © Julie Umerle

Delighted to share that the Priseman Seabrook Collection is now available to view via the Bloomberg Connects app.

My painting 'Eclipse' is part of their collection.

ECLIPSE
1999-2000
Oil and acrylic on canvas

DESCRIPTION
Umerle is an American-born artist who lives and works in London. In this work she presents us with a process-driven abstract painting in which oil and acrylic paint have been applied to create a beautiful pattern, somehow reminiscent of rain trickling down a window. It has been achieved because oil and acrylic paints don't mix, as acrylic is water based. This allows Umerle to play with the disruptive patters the mediums themselves have created, forming a beautiful painting from their interplay.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Dimensions
51 x 46 cm

Accession Number
131

Green Light and Yellow Light

Here are two small paintings on paper I have made this summer - acrylic on watercolour  paper - that are postcard-sized (ie 6 x 4 in/15 x 10 cm). 

Both are photographed on my ancient i-phone so apologies for the rather poor quality of the photographs!

Green Light: this painting will be donated to Artists Supporting Palestine and will be exhibited and sold at studio1.1 gallery in Shoreditch, London to raise money for medical aid to Palestine.

                                                                © Julie Umerle

Yellow Light:  this painting will be donated to the Art on a Postcard charity auction to fund the Hepatitis C Trust's mission to eliminate Hepatitis C.

 © Julie Umerle

 

I very much value being able to fundraise for charities with my paintings in this way, alongside pursuing my practice.

Artfacts

"Julie Umerle's artistic practice revolves around investigating the relationship between materials and image perception, focusing on the balance between precision and chance in abstract painting.

She works with paint on unprimed canvases and wet stretched paper, exploring the texture of materials and the organic qualities of ink.

Umerle's main themes include the interaction between freedom and control, chaos theory, and fractals, with a stylistic approach that involves creating open-ended series inspired by previous works and refining older pieces".

Artfacts

Julie Umerle

'Art, Life and Everything' by Julie Umerle

 

Opening paragraph of 'Art, Life and Everything' by Julie Umerle -

"Recently returned to London from Cornwall with a first class honours degree in painting from Falmouth School of Art, I was 23 and excited by the prospect of what lay ahead. I knew the joy of painting and believed that with enough effort and a little luck, I would become an artist. However, as a wheelchair user, I would face many additional challenges."
.

'Art, Life and Everything:  A memoir' is available at Waterstones, Foyles, Amazon and a few independent bookshops.

Artist Fundraiser for Médecins Sans Frontières

Resonance III
Julie Umerle

Resonance II
Julie Umerle

Artist Fundraiser for Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) UK working in Palestine 

Leading voices from across the field of contemporary art join forces to raise funds for essential  humanitarian aid for Palestine through an exhibition and major online art auction. Over 200  artworks have been donated, spanning the disciplines of art, architecture, engineering, and literature.  All proceeds will go towards the work of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) UK  in Gaza and the West Bank. Please support if you can by making a bid at this auction. .

I have contributed two works on paper - Resonance II and Resonance III. You can find these in the catalogue published for the event along with work by 200+ artists.

Online auction dates: 18th November – 1st December 2024: artistfundraiser.com Exhibition dates: 23rd, 24th, 29th, 30th November & 1st December, 11am - 5pm 14 Wharf Road, Islington, London N1 7RW Private View: 22 November. 5 – 9pm   Curated by: Rahila Haque & Nabila Abdel Nabi Organised by: Adham Faramawy RA Alumni, Alan Stanton RA, Alison Wilding OBE RA,  Emma Stibbon RA, Fiona Banner aka the Vanity Press RA, Goshka Macuga RA, Mali Morris RA,  Piers Gough CBE RA, Rana Begum RA, Dame Sonia Boyce OBE RA, Tim Shaw RA

Saatchi Art

Cobalt II
Copyright: Julie Umerle

I'm pleased to share with you that I have just opened an account with Saatchi Art where you can buy eleven pieces from my most recent series of geometric paintings. 

Saatchi Art

Please follow this link to see the works on offer. 

Find art for sale at great prices. It is easy to shop art online. Discover art you love at Saatchi Art, the worlds leading global online gallery. 

I'll be adding more paintings to my account at a later date so please check in regularly!

            

 

Biography

Julie Umerle is a contemporary artist born in the United States and based in London, UK. 

Her work is primarily abstract, exploring the boundaries of painting through her engagement with concepts of repetition, variation, and the investigation of the materiality of paint. Umerle's vibrant paintings "transform the environments they inhabit".  

Umerle studied at Falmouth University, Cornwall and later at Parsons School of Design in New York City. Her artistic career has been marked by a number of exhibitions, both solo and group, in the UK and internationally. 

Umerle's paintings are characterised by their subtle textures and layers, often invoking a sense of the meditative process through which they are created.

Her work is included in various private and public collections, reflecting her ongoing contribution to the field of contemporary abstraction.

'Art, Life and Everything : A Memoir', detailing her early life as an artist in London and New York, was published to critical acclaim in 2019.

Women In Art: Julie Umerle

REPOST

WIA. Artist questions. Julie Umerle. 2nd October 2018

1. What are you doing today?

Today I’m in the studio planning my next series of paintings, writing a shopping list of art materials as well as making a few sketches. I’ve selected the colours and the size of stretchers I want to work with, and checked my stock to see what materials I already have.

2. Tell us about your creative process.

The creative process is always a mysterious one to pin down. I tend to paint in series so that one idea will develop from the previous and runs seamlessly throughout my work. In a sense, an idea is always developing and never really complete.

3. Describe where you do most of your creative work.

I do most of my creative work in the studio, a converted fire station in the East End of London. The building is over 100 years old. There are 18 studios in the building but most of the time there’s very few people there during the day. My studio is a large square space. It has a wonderful skylight and a wall of windows. It’s freezing cold in winter!

4.What’s the most exciting project you’ve worked on?

I would say the most exciting project I’ve worked on so far has been my MFA exhibition in a New York gallery, where I showed a few key paintings from my two years of study at Parsons School of Design. It was the culmination of so many new ideas and wonderful experiences that came from that time.

5.What made you decide to become an artist?

I’ve always had an artist’s temperament and an ability to paint. For many years, I couldn’t find where I fitted into the world. I’ve always felt an outsider. When I finally decided to become an artist, it was with a sense of relief. I could then concentrate on learning my craft and work towards developing my practice.

6.What are you currently working on?

I have recently made four pieces for a secret art postcard sale, ‘Another World’, an exhibition of original artworks to be shown at the Deutsche Bank Lounge during Frieze London. To celebrate 100 years of women getting the vote, Tracey Emin has curated the exhibition by living female artists from the Deutsche Bank collection. There are over 220 female artists taking part. All cards will be sold in aid of charity supporting vulnerable women. A selection of these will be sold online during Frieze, commencing 5 October 2018. 

7. Do you listen to music while you work, and if so, what’s your soundtrack?

I always used to listen to loud music whilst painting (much to the annoyance of my studio neighbours) but now I often work in silence or tuned in to Radio Four.

8. What are the key themes in your work?

Colour, space and mark-making are the key themes in my work.

9. What would you like people to notice in your work?

I’d like people to engage with my work through whatever means. I believe a

painting should be able to communicate for itself without the viewer being directed towards a particular understanding.

10. What attracts you to the mediums you work in?

As an abstract artist I love the physicality and substance of paint, the fluidity of the medium. I love working with colour (or sometimes in monochrome). I enjoy changing the appearance and consistency of the paint through the use of various additives. I am always surprised by what can be achieved, either working with the natural flow of the medium or trying to control it.

11. What equipment could you not do without?

I could not do without my paint brushes. Some of them are very old and battered. Some are worn out and barely functioning. Others are more cared for. They are all invaluable.

12. Who or what inspires you?

Frida Kahlo inspires me. There’s a postcard of her pinned up on my studio wall which I look at frequently. It’s a photograph of Frida Kahlo in Mexico with one of her surgeons, Dr Farik. She sits beside an easel, palette and brushes in hand.

13. How does gender affect your work?

It’s much more difficult to gain recognition as a female artist. But there seems to be a serious attempt to change the gender balance within the art world at the moment which is long overdue.

14. What’s your favourite gallery, or place to see or experience art?

My favourite place to see art is at Tate Modern in London.

15. If you could own one piece of art, what would it be and why?

I would choose a painting by a living artist. I could live very happily with any of the Tomma Abts’ paintings that I saw in the Serpentine Gallery this summer.

16. If you could collaborate with one artist, from any time, who would it be, and why?

I would have liked to have collaborated with Joan Mitchell, a second-generation Abstract Expressionist. She worked at a time when female artists were even less visible than they are now. Yet she succeeded in becoming one of the foremost abstract painters of her generation. I particularly admire the energy of her paintings.

17. Is there an artist, movement or collective you’d like to see re-evaluated, or a contemporary artist who is underrated?

So many contemporary artists working today are underrated, particularly painters. I think it would be unfair to pick out just one.

18. What’s your favourite colour :)

My favourite colour is Blue.

'Cobalt' at Sothebys, Cologne

Sotheby's Charity Auction: Organized by the Rotary Club to benefit Desideria, a dementia charity

5 October 2023, 5pm

Public Exhibition | 28 September–4 October 2023
Mon–Fri | 10:00 AM–5:00 PM
Sat–Sun | 12:00 PM–4:00 PM
Exhibition closed 3 October 2023

Sotheby's

Palais Oppenheim

Gustav-Heinemann-Ufer 136-138

Cologne, Koln 50968

Germany

+49 221 20 71 70 

cologne@sothebys.com

'Cobalt' to be auctioned at Sotheby's Cologne

My painting Cobalt - described by one of my collectors as a 'suspended blue cuboid' - goes under the hammer at Sotheby's Cologne on 5 October at 5pm and will be exhibited at Sotheby's Palais Oppenheim, Gustav-Heinemann-Ufer 136-138, 50968 Cologne from 28 September - 4 October 2023.

All proceeds benefit Desideria Care, a dementia charity.

Cobalt, 2021, acrylic on canvas, 55 cm x 55 cm.

CCharity Art Auctionin favor of Desideria Care e.V. at Sotheby ̛s in the Palais Oppenheim in Cologne.

The auction catalogue is available online: 

Sotheby's Auction Catalogue

28 Sept - 5 Oct 2023: Sotheby's Cologne

SAVE THE DATE!

Delighted to be taking part in a charity art auction at Sotheby's in Cologne on 5 October 2023. The auction will benefit a dementia charity. 

My donated painting, Cobalt, is listed as Lot 156 (please see catalogue for details). All works will be exhibited at Sotheby's, Palais Oppenheim, Cologne throughout the previous week, starting 28 September.

If you are unable to be at Sotheby's on the 5 October for the auction, you can participate live via telephone, whatsapp or written bid!

Catalogue available online:  Please click here for link.

Charity Art Auction at Sotheby's

 

Save the date!

Delighted to be taking part in a charity art auction at Sotheby's, Cologne on 5 October 2023. The auction will benefit a dementia charity. 

My donated painting, Cobalt, is listed as Lot 156 (please see catalogue for details).

All works will be on display at Sotheby's throughout the previous week.

Bids can be made online.

Please click link for online catalogue

Split Infinity III

  © Julie Umerle

                                                  

Split Infininity III immediately captures the viewer's attention with its vibrant colours and dynamic composition. Umerle's distinctive style is evident in this piece, as she expertly blends abstraction with a sense of structure and balance.

The title, Split Infinity III, suggests a theme of duality and infinity. The painting is divided into two distinct halves, each characterized by its own unique colour palette and brushwork. On one side, there is a bold, energetic explosion of warm hues, while the other side features cooler, more subdued tones. This juxtaposition creates a visual tension, inviting the viewer to explore the interplay between the two halves.

Umerle's mastery of colour is evident throughout the painting.

As one gazes at Split Infinity III, a sense of movement and rhythm emerges. Umerle's brushwork and composition guide the viewer's eye across the canvas, creating a dynamic visual experience. The painting seems to pulsate with energy, as if capturing a fleeting moment of motion frozen in time. The artist's ability to convey a sense of movement within a static medium is truly remarkable In essence,

Split Infinity III is a testament to Julie Umerle's artistic prowess. The painting showcases her skllful handling of colour and composition, resulting in a visually striking and emotionally engaging artwork. It invites viewers to immerse themselves in the interplay of colours, to explore the tension between opposing forces, and to contemplate the infinite possibilities that lie within the split.

Carmin Red

                                                         © Julie Umerle

Artnet describes the series of paintings, of which 'Carmin Red' forms a part, as "a formidable synthesis of the rich traditions of color field painting and geometric abstraction. Her subtle and meticulous canvases in many ways operate as investigations into the myriad of ways color, shape, and scale interact, both within a single composition as well as across series."

'In Residence' at London Marriott Canary Wharf

Julie Umerle is a contemporary artist known for abstract painting, often characterised by bold colours and dynamic compositions.

With an impressive portfolio spanning decades and a reputation for innovative and thought-provoking works, Julie Umerle's artist residency at the London Marriott in Canary Wharf began in 2017, an exciting collaboration between art and hospitality.

Umerle has captivated audiences around the world with her dynamic and evocative artworks. Known for her ability to blend bold colours and intricate textures, Umerle's paintings offer a unique perspective on the human experience. Her work has been exhibited in prestigious galleries and museums, and she has received critical acclaim for her ability to challenge conventional artistic boundaries.

Visitors to London Marriott Canary Wharf have the opportunity to view Umerle's paintings in a curated exhibition, 'In Residence', providing a lasting legacy of this extraordinary collaboration.

London Marriott Hotel Canary Wharf, 22 Hertsmere Road, London E14 4ED