Julie Bartholomew is a craft-based artist, educator and writer. As an artist working with ceramics, and more recently glass, Julie has maintained a high research and exhibition profile through academic studies, exhibitions in Australia and abroad, published articles and art residencies.
Throughout her career, Julie has been inspired by cultural issues and social debates, exploring the dynamic interchange between communication technology and humans as well as global branding and consumerism. Her art practice has responded to environmental concerns since 2010, with the intention of creating conversations around species extinction and our climate emergency.
Previous projects such as Endangered, Rarely Seen, and Subversive Botanica investigated the perilous existence of threatened Australian birds and flora. Anthropogenic Scrolls aligned Julie’s art practice with scientific research by responding to the work of Australian scientists extracting ice cores from Antarctica. Hand-formed porcelain and glass columns referred to data obtained from extracted cores embedded with information akin to ancient scrolls, offering insight into climate history and evidence of global warming. The National Museum of Australia acquired Anthropogenic Scrolls for its new Environment History Gallery.
Julie has been extensively involved with art education as an academic and university lecturer. Formally, she was the Head of Ceramics at the School of Art & Design, ANU and the University of South Australia. Her academic achievements culminated in the award of a Doctorate of Visual Arts (Sculpture) from UNSW, School of Art & Design.
Julie has been the recipient of multiple awards including five Australia Council for the Arts New Work Grants. Julie won the 2006 International Gold Coast Ceramics Award. Her work is held in prestigious public collections including the Shepparton Art Museum, Wollongong City Gallery, Manly Art Gallery, National Gallery of Australia, National Museum of Australia, Yingge Ceramics Museum in Taiwan, the Shanghai Arts and Crafts Museum in China and the WOCEK International Ceramics Collection in Korea.
The artist’s experimental practice has been fostered by focused periods of studio practice and diverse cultural experiences gained during numerous art residencies. These include the Australia Council for the Arts Studio in Tokyo, Australia-China Council Red Gate Residency in Beijing, Asialink Residency in Taiwan, Taoxichuan International Residency in Jingdezhen, China, Gujarat Global Art Festival in India, Professional Residency Sturt Craft Centre in Mittagong and Canberra Glasswork Residency during 2023.
A new series of work titled Evanescence, integrates porcelain objects with cast and blown glass. This work refers to the transmutation of substance and alludes to the processes encountered while working with ceramics and glass. Evanescence implies fragility and transience, and in this instance it refers to the melting of glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctic Circles. The notion of transmutation encapsulates the physical changes that occur when icescapes melt as a result of global warming.
