Julie Leach is a UK based artist who works with the elements, primarily the wind, to document the invisible forces of nature. Influenced by the eastern philosophy of wabi-sabi, Julie explores qualities of transience, intangibility and ephemerality in both the concept and the aesthetic of her work.
Facilitating ‘nature as artist’, drawings are created through direct engagement with the processes of the natural world. The drawings, which express extraordinary lightness, energy and movement, may be an entity in themselves or are developed through etching or screen printing into works on paper or silk.
The physical connection of working outside, in often challenging conditions, is an important part of Julie’s practice. The sense of freedom, risk and the wildness of nature provides a revitalising balance to the domestic, the comfortable and the virtual. Julie deliberately relinquishes control to nature in order to bypass the conscious brain and personal ego. There is a meditative value in both process and outcomes that offers a sense of personal perspective.
galleries
Brownsword Hepworth, London
Irving Contemporary, Oxford
The Drugstore Gallery, Axbridge
Bevere Gallery, Worcester
Little Buckland Gallery, Broadway
Gallery 57, Arundel
Gallery at Home, Usk
Tarpey Gallery, Castle Donington, Derby
selected awards
2018
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2014
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1981
RBSA Print Exhibition Prize, GMC whole submission award – Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
MA Multi-Disciplinary Printmaking (Distinction) – University of the West of England
Foundation in Art and Design (Distinction) – Hereford College of Arts
B.Ed. Hons (2.1) – Education/Art – Warwick University
selected exhibitions
2021
Autumn Show - Gallery at Home, Usk
Solo Exhibition - Brownsword Hepworth Gallery, London
Light and Dark - Tarpey Gallery, Castle Donnington, Derby
RWA 168th Annual Open - Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
2020
Hidden Gem - Gallery at Home, Usk
Cabinet of Curiosities - Brownsword Hepworth, London
Winter Show - Brownsword Hepworth, London
The Online Edition - Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, London
Open Art Online - Broadway Arts Festival, Broadway
Essence – Little Buckland Gallery, Broadway
March Show – Bevere Gallery, Worcester
New Wave – Viner Gallery, Wolverhampton
Elements: air water – Gallery 57, Arundel
A Place to Breathe – Irving Contemporary, Oxford
Affordable Art Fair Battersea – The Drugstore Gallery, Battersea Park, London
2019
Irving Inaugural Exhibition – Irving Contemporary, Oxford
Ethos – Little Buckland Gallery, Broadway
Manchester Art Fair – The Drugstore Gallery, Manchester Central, Manchester
RWA 167th Annual Open Exhibition – Royal Academy of the West of England, Bristol
Worcestershire Open Studios – Bevere Gallery, Worcester
Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair – Woolwich Arsenal, Woolwich, London
Flow – Gallery 57, Arundel
GPC Summer Print Show – Gloucestershire Print Collective, Museum in the Park, Stroud
In The Moment – Bower Fine Art, 54 The Gallery, Mayfair, London
Affordable Art Fair Hampstead – The Drugstore Gallery, Hampstead, London
Affordable Art Fair Battersea – The Drugstore Gallery, Battersea Park, London
March Show – Bevere Gallery, Worcester
2018
RWA 166th Annual Open Exhibition – Royal Academy of the West of England, Bristol
National Original Print Exhibition – Bankside Gallery, London
Interruptions – Felios Foundation, Athens, Greece
RBSA Print Prize Exhibition – Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, Birmingham
Stroud Summer Exhibition – Stroud Valleys Artspace, Stroud
32nd Annual MA Multi-Disciplinary Mini Print Exhibition – Burton Art Gallery, Bideford, Devon
MA Multi-Disciplinary Printmaking Degree Show – University of the West of England, Bristol
Affordable Art Fair Hampstead – The Drugstore Gallery, Hampstead, London
The Broadway Open Art Exhibition – Little Buckland Gallery, Broadway
2017
32nd Annual MA Multi-Disciplinary Mini Print Exhibition – Arnolfini, Bristol
Proof – The Christmas Steps Gallery, Bristol
Bristol Artists’ Books Event (BABE) – Arnolfini, Bristol
selected events & publications
2021
Article: Artist Spotlight
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2020
Video: Lockdown Sessions
Workshop: Developing Sketchbooks with Nature as Artist – Broadway Arts Festival, Broadway
Talk: Elemental – Gallery 57, Arundel
Article: Tim Sayer MBE Discusses David Oates and Julie Leach
Film: Outdoor Live Animated Art Projection - New Wave Arts, White Ladies Priory Ruins,Wolverhampton
Film: Outdoor Live Animated Art Projection - New Wave Arts, WV1 Studio, Wolverhampton
2019
Article: Artist Profile - Ox In A Box, Irving Gallery In-House Exhibition
Talk: Drawing the Unconceived – Little Buckland Gallery, Broadway
Demonstration: Botanical Printmaking – Bevere Gallery Open Studios, Worcester
2018
Article: Jackson's Art, Mychael Barratt Interview - The National Original Print Exhibition 2018
Talk: Drawing the Unconceived – Select Connects, Stroud International Textiles, Stroud
Article: Artist Profile – Manor Magazine, Issue 25, Late Spring 2018, p.75
2017
Talk: Working with the Elemental Energies of Nature – University of the West of England, Bristol