Julia Dzikiewicz
Julia Dzikiewicz is a storyteller and painter of women, fantastical creatures, and curent events.
Message
Julia Dzikiewicz is a mixed media artist based in Virginia. Her art is deeply rooted in feminist history and activism.
Her work has been exhibited nationally at the Reese Museum, Lucy Burns Museum, Masur Museum of Art , Monmouth University, Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center, Black Rock Center for the Arts, Woman Made Gallery and Touchstone Gallery.
Her paintings has been featured in film on PBS, News 12 New Jersey and in “Encaustic: It’s all the Buzz, ” a documentary by the Documaniacs. She and her work have been reviewed at The Washington Post Newspaper, Elan Magazine, Alexandria Times, Northern Virginia Magazine and Culture Spot.
Her works are part of the permanent collections at the Lucy Burns Museum and R &F Paints
Please visit her website, https://gallerydz.com/ to see more of her work or to view her virtual shows.
Statement
I enjoy painting the political. I was raised by a mother who ran campaigns for fun, including her own. She felt knowing what happens in the world is important and instilled in me a desire to understand the issues and to paint about them.
I suppose these paintings are my diary, a place where one can see my interests and the current events of the time. But one never knows where inspiration will come. Here I was, happily painting about global warming, and then I moved into the Workhouse Arts Center. My studio used to be part of a prison that once held Suffragists imprisoned for picketing the White House. Thus began my Feminism Series, where I try to tell the stories of these brave women and attempt to pull their issues into the modern day.
The majority of my paintings after 2009 are painted with encaustic. Encaustic paint is made from beeswax and color and looks like a big bar of colored soap. I melt the paint on a large metal surface, pick up the color with my brush, and apply it to a prepared board. The paint cools immediately and becomes hard. I then use a heat gun or torch to burn in the color or to smooth the surface. It’s hard to tell online, but in person the painted surfaces can mimic stained glass. Other times, I paint out thin sheets of it and construct wax flowers. The beauty of this medium is its versatility.