Meet the Artist
My latest gallery show at Gallery 1010 in Downtown Knoxville!
The studio!
Hello!
My name is Julia Johnson, and I am currently a senior at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education. I will be continuing my studies in the Art Education Master’s program during the 2026–2027 academic year.
Throughout my time at UTK, I have developed a diverse body of work and have been selling prints and commission-based artwork locally for the past year. This past spring, I had the honor of participating in the Dogwood Arts Festival in Knoxville as part of the Emerging Artists Tent. I was thrilled to receive the “Best of Show” award, which included a cash prize and secured my placement in the main exhibition area for the upcoming festival in April 2026.
Additionally, my ceramic piece Sisters will be exhibited at Dogwood Arts in Downtown Knoxville in November 2025. My work has also been featured in multiple group shows at Gallery 1010 during both the Fall and Spring of 2025, as well as in the Ewing Gallery at UTK in Spring 2025. I’ve participated in several campus art markets and pop-ups, gaining valuable experience and connecting with the local art community.
Alongside my studio practice, I have several years of experience teaching art to K–5 students through camps and after-school programs, and I am passionate about pursuing a career in Art Education.
Thank you for taking the time to explore my work and available prints! I also accept a wide range of commission requests and love bringing others’ ideas to life. For more frequent updates and behind-the-scenes looks at my creative process, feel free to follow me on Instagram: @art_byjulia_7
Artist Statement:
My practice combines oil and acrylic paint with fabric, borders, and collage elements. These materials and images act as carriers of memories, travel, and personal history. Each piece functions like a personal landscape—abstract yet familiar. I aim to capture fleeting moments, suspended between the real and the imagined. My muted, warm color palette evokes the haze of memory. Fabric plays a vital role in my practice—both as subject and material—often collaged into the surface or represented through painted patterns and textures. These textile elements show especially in my border designs. I collect fabric locally and from older relatives, adding another layer of history and depth.
I use painting as a way to process time—how it bends, repeats, and resurfaces through fragments of memories and nostalgia. My process is a form of quiet excavation, tapping into the subconscious, where dreams blur with reality and beauty lies in the in-between. I start with a washy acrylic background creating a new world or surface for my subjects to live and exist. It contributes to the feeling of nostalgia and how I remember my experiences in my paintings. I render with looser brushstrokes and realistic depictions to complete my collaged elements on top- always using my own references and photos.
