My imagery is a contemporary take on the wildlife, horses, and rodeo of the modern American west, in a “"disrupted realism" style. These paintings are a response to the fragmented nature of our current environment (social, political, and natural), and they are intended to spur us to ask questions of ourselves and our society. These pieces demand more from me than any other body of work I’ve done before...but I want them to be evocative, and just as the paintings require my intense focus, I ask a lot from my viewers: I ask them to participate in not just looking, but seeing.
My art is featured in galleries, museum shows, and collections throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia. My work has appeared in Southwest Art, Big Sky Journal, Western Art & Architecture, and other magazines. Current galleries include Gallery Wild (Jackson), Frame of Reference (Whitefish), Montana Trails (Bozeman), Rowe Gallery (Sedona), and Marshall Gallery (Scottsdale).
Click on the images below to view Julie T. Chapman's artwork available for sale at this year's show.
Carpe Diem #2 (Rebound)
Blue Bull #1
Cougars show up regularly in my work for two reasons. One is the liquid physicality of cats: they move as though made of rubber bands and are capable of astonishing leaps and bounds. The other is that they embody Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, in a way that feels both beautiful and unknowable. Their eyes transfix me, their velvet-over-steel presence fascinates me.