Julia Monte

This past year was about figuring it out as I went along. I spent a long time drawing inside of trains and planes and buses and cars...and then I wasn’t going anywhere for months. I reflected heavily on the drawings and watercolors I made in the past, all based off of the observances of a passenger.

Honestly I had always found sculpture to be challenging; I pursued painting and drawing as if it were some easier task. But I realized I do think about painting and drawing in much more dimensional means. And now I have arrived at these current experiments of sculptures, which are grounded in the contemplation of the various scaffolding supporting surrounding structures that propel us through time and space. 

I have made these pieces in several different ways. The processes and content that back the work are not dissimilar ideas, but each is still particular.  I am excited about the anticipation I feel happening in my studio, like I do during the slow crawl of a train car (or less often, a rollercoaster) just before gaining speed. The complex intersections of highways that butt up against the complicated structures and scaffolding of the city, like the highways in my hometown of Dallas, Texas, make me feel small and curious. I know there is more to that, the construction of such systems tied to the access and for now, I have spent some time becoming familiar with the ways in which these were all made; whether I am putting things together piece by piece, carving into a big block, making both loose and detailed molds, I am constantly thinking about where I am going and where I might end up.