Julie Keating
Julie Keating has long been influenced by 17th century Dutch still life and its meticulous depiction of objects.
But her contemporary take is more than simply updating the objects depicted. Julie also addresses the compositional nature of still life, moving away from the complex, chaotic virtuoso performances characteristic of the Pronkstilleven. In her compositions, she aims to concentrate attention on the individual objects, often with an implied narrative: making the inanimate animate. And then there’s that aspect of Keating's work where even the beautiful can have a touch of sinister or that the innocent can have a dark side.
But, more recently, having moved out of Melbourne to live on a farm in the coastal region near to the Great Ocean Road, Keating finds herself unexpectedly inspired by the sheer beauty of nature and her natural surrounds.
Click here for artwork by Julie Keating
Exhibitions at Tacit Art
2023 Vapourscape
Painted in the enigmatic landscapes of Nalangil in the Western District of Victoria, Vapourscape is an exploration of abstraction and figuration, clarity and obscurity.
Nalangil is a theatre of elemental forces and a sanctuary for strange fogs, eerie mists and fantastical skies. Here, the horizon is visible in all directions, offering a ceaseless spectacle of winds and wild weather, of storm clouds, dramatic light shifts; of dawn and sunset skies that almost defy understanding in their beauty.
Conversations with Birds is an exhibition of paintings created during this strange year of isolation and disconnection.
In April this year, when the pandemic in Australia was really just beginning to foreshadow the extent of its potential to fundamentally change all our norms of social interaction, I took possession of an old house in the Western District.
2017 Shadowlands
Julie Keating has long been influenced by 17th century Dutch still life and its meticulous depiction of objects.
But her contemporary take is more than simply updating the objects depicted. Keating also addresses the compositional nature of still life, moving away from the complex, chaotic virtuoso performances characteristic of the Pronkstilleven. In her compositions, she aims to concentrate attention on the individual objects, often with an implied narrative: making the inanimate animate.
2015 Celluloid Dreamers
Through the medium of oil paint on canvas, artist Julie Keating toys with the genre of Still Life. Surfaces are smooth, backgrounds dark, her subjects considered. Like the great Flemish masters before her, Keating creates a mise-en-scène by choosing and arranging her objects carefully. Traditional single source lighting is used for dramatic effect. Reflections and shadows are crucial. Keating’s skilful brushwork reminds us of van Vucht, van Voet and van de Velde, all of whom created detailed Netherlandish dramas from everyday objects.
This project began as an exploration of 17th century Dutch still life genre, discovering how the meticulous depiction of objects could address a modern audience. This involved more than simply updating the objects depicted, which has been done many times before. It also meant addressing the compositional nature of still life, moving away from the complex, chaotic virtuoso performances characteristic of the Pronkstilleven.
Exhibitions
solo
2023 Vapourscape - Tacit Art, Melbourne
2020 Conversations With Birds - Tacit Art, Melbourne
2019 Walhalla Winter - Tacit Art
2017 Shadowlands - Tacit Art
2015 Celluloid Dreamers - Tacit Art
2014 Still - Tacit Art
2006 So brave, so bold, so desolate... - Red Gallery, Melbourne
2005 The Art of Reversed Contact - Red Gallery
group
2023 Artbox - Tacit Art, Melbourne
Opening Group Exhibition - The Milk Shed Studio, Weerite
Small Art Treasures - Colac Otway Art Trail
Red Rock and Beyond - Red Rock Regional Art Gallery, Cororooke
2022 Costume - Tacit Art, Melbourne
Western District Views - Lauriston Press, Penshurst
2021 TACIT Still Life Prize - Tacit Art, Melbourne
From the Garden - The F Project, Warrnambool (w/ Alison McIntosh)
2020 Biblio-Art Prize - Blarney Books & Art, Port Fairy
20[2020] - Tacit Art, Melbourne
Milieu - The F Project, Warrnambool
2019 Curated selections - Peterborough Antiques & Art
2018 Small Works - The F Project
The Exquisite Palette - St Luke, Melbourne
Small Works: A Survey - Red Rock Regional Art Gallery, Cororooke
2017 The Flanagan Art Prize - Ballarat
2016 Onefourfour - The Art Room, Melbourne
The Flanagan Art Prize - Ballarat
Imago Mundi - Milan
Miniscule - Red Rock Regional Art Gallery
2014 The Flanagan Art Prize - Ballarat
Waterbrook Art Prize - Sydney
2013 Eutick Memorial Still Life Award - Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery, NSW
The Flanagan Art Prize - Ballarat
Lethbridge 10000 Prize - Brisbane
The Exquisite Palette - St Luke
Under A Grand II - David Rex-Livingston Gallery, Sydney
2012 Group - David Rex-Livingston Gallery
2011 On Childhood - Wishart Art Gallery, Port Fairy
Eutick Memorial Still Life Award - Coffs Harbour
The Flanagan Art Prize - Ballarat
Conceit, Corangamarah Art Prize - Red Rock Regional Art Gallery
Lethbridge 10000 Prize - Brisbane
Biblio-Art Prize - Blarney Books & Art
2010 Network - Art Gallery of Ballarat
Belle Arti Prize - Chapman & Bailey, Melbourne