“Shikaku” Sense of Sight Julie Speidel
Winston Wächter Fine Art 530 West 25th Street New York, NY 10001 (212) 255-2718 nygallery@winstonwachter.com Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 6pm Cover: RBG VI, 2022, Hand rubbed oil on Japanese paper, 38 x 26 inches
“Shikaku” Sense of Sight | Julie Speidel September 8th - October 29th, 2022 Winston Wächter Fine Art, New York is pleased to present “Shikaku” Sense of Sight, an exhibition of new works on paper by Julie Speidel. Continuing her practice of hand-rubbed ink on Japanese paper, Speidel creates compositions of large vibrant shapes that explore the simplicity of two-dimensional art and its power to evoke calm, balance, and mystery. “Shikaku” is the Japanese translation for the “sense of sight” and provides the inspiration for this most recent body of work. After forty years working with her hands as a sculptor of pieces at a substantial and often grand scale, Speidel’s artistic vision has evolved metaphorically with the ever-present passage of time. Entering this stage of life with limited visual acuity, inspiration for her work has transitioned from physically touching the large sculptures before her to an introspective and mindful practice of “seeing” that is meditative, internal and very personal. The intention of these new works is to ease the mind of the viewer and create a freeing experience of “sight” without the struggle to focus. These compositions reflect the artist’s deep appreciation for the Japanese aesthetic and its origins in simple, subtle, unobtrusive forms. Julie Speidel often looks to the enigmatic art and architecture of prehistoric and indigenous societies and incorporates them within her work. Examples of this include inspirations from sacred carved talismans, Native American totemic art from the Pacific Northwest, and the rings of standing stones at Stonehenge. With proud Irish heritage and dual citizenship, Speidel draws timeless artistic vision from Ireland’s ancient megalithic sites of seemingly impossible creation, sites from which most of the works in the exhibition derive their titles. Many works such as Ballybrennan, consist of vertical arrangements of simple rounded shapes that float in stacks or towers. This evokes both the human figure and the built environment. While reminiscent of paleolithic devotional monuments and the elegant simplicity of Japanese design, Speidel’s works are also distinctly modern. These rhythmic compositions of shapes and colors appear in weightless abstraction, and speak to the transcendence of light, time, and space. Julie Speidel has been exhibited widely and her works are included in many prestigious private and public collections in the U.S. and abroad, including the Tacoma Art Museum, Portland Art Museum, three United States Embassies, the Oracle Collection, the Boeing Collection and the Nordstrom Collection. Her work has been featured in Architectural Digest and Seattle Times, among others. Julie Speidel currently lives and works in Seattle, Washington.
Julie Speidel RBG VI, 2022 Hand rubbed oil on Japanese paper 38 x 26 inches
Julie Speidel Oughaval, 2022 Hand rubbed oil on Japanese paper 26 x 38 inches
Julie Speidel Ballyhealy, 2022 Hand rubbed oil on Japanese paper 72 x 26 inches
Julie Speidel Glashare, 2022 Hand rubbed oil on Japanese paper 55 x 30 inches
Julie Speidel Ballyboher, 2022 Hand rubbed oil on Japanese paper 75 x 39 inches
Julie Speidel Proleek, 2022 Hand rubbed oil on Japanese paper 75 x 39 inches
Julie Speidel Abbeyshrule, 2022 Hand rubbed oil on Japanese paper 60 x 39 inches
Julie Speidel Lamoge, 2022 Hand rubbed oil on Japanese paper 55 x 30 inches
Julie Speidel Ballylannan, 2022 Hand rubbed oil on Japanese paper 55 x 30 inches
Julie Speidel Ballybrennan, 2022 Hand rubbed oil on Japanese paper 72 x 26 inches
Julie Speidel Rathealy, 2022 Hand rubbed oil on Japanese paper 38 x 26 inches
Julie Speidel Abbeylara, 2022 Hand rubbed oil on Japanese paper 38 x 26 inches
Julie Speidel Bannow, 2022 Hand rubbed oil on Japanese paper 38 x 26 inches
Julie Speidel Ballyadams, 2022 Hand rubbed oil on Japanese paper 55 x 30 inches
Julie Speidel BORN 1966
St. Louis, MO
EDUCATION 1967–1968 Cornish Institute, Seattle, WA 1961–1963 University of Grenoble, Grenoble, France 1959–1961 University of Washington, Seattle, WA SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2022 “Shikaku – Sense of Sight”, Winston Wächter Fine Art, New York, NY “Equipoise”, Winston Wächter Fine Art, Seattle, WA Works on Paper, J. Willott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA 2021 “Carnac”, Winston Wächter Fine Art, Seattle, WA Works on Paper, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID W orks on Paper Introducing Tribute to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, J.Willott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA 2020 Works on Paper, J. Willott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA 2019 Works on Paper, J. Willott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA 2018 “Fragments of Transcendence”, J. Willott Gallery, Palm Dessert, CA “Continuities”, Winston Wächter, New York, NY “Open Boundaries”, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA “Journey Across Culture”, J. Willott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA “Calhau”, Winston Wächter Fine Art, Seattle, WA 2016 “Arundel”, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID Works on Paper, J. Willott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA 2015 Works on Paper, J. Willott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA 2014 “Pactolus”, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID “Hermus”, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA “Native Ground”, Winston Wächter Fine Art, Seattle, WA 2013 “Sculpture in the Landscape”, Bloedel Reserve, Bainbridge Island, WA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2017 “Color V”, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID 2016 San Francisco Art Market, San Francisco, CA “Cultural Sculpture”, J. Willott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA Seattle Art Fair, Seattle, WA BAM Biennial 2016: Metalmorphosis,” Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA The Experience of Color,” Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID 2015 Market Art and Design, Bridgehampton, NY San Francisco Art Market, San Francisco, CA Seattle Art Fair, Seattle, WA 2014 “Color III”, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID 2013 “Art in Architecture”, Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, WA “Grand Opening”, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Bainbridge Island, WA “Honoring our Landscape II”, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID Winston Wächter Fine Art, Seattle, WA Forré & Co. Fine Art Gallery, Aspen, CO J. Willott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA 2012 National Altar Guild Association Art Exhibit, Indianopolis, IN Voigt Family Foundation Invitational, “The Spirit of the Man”, Santa Rosa, CA Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Salem, OR A Sense of place XVI – Landscape, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID 2011 “Jim Olson: Architecture for Art”, Museum of Art/Washington State University, Pullman, WA “Marks and Conversations II”, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID Forré & Co. Fine Art Gallery, Aspen, CO J. Willott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA “Seattle Art Museum: Gardens of Art”, Hunts Point, WA 2010 Whatcom Museum Lightcatcher Building, Bellingham, WA “A Concise History of Northwest Art”, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA Olympic Small & Large Art Exhibit, Blaine, WA Group Contemporary and Landscape, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID Maryhill Museum, Goldendale, WA
COMMISSIONS AND COLLECTIONS Amazon Doppler Building, Seattle, WA American Greetings World Headquarters, Westlake, OH AT&T Gateway Tower-Seattle Municipal Tower, Seattle, WA Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA Bellevue Towers, two site-specific sculptures, Bellevue, WA Bentall Corporation, Puget Sound Energy Summit Building, Bellevue, WA Boeing Commercial Airplane Group Headquarters, Tukwila, WA Central Oregon Community College, site-specific sculpture, Bend, OR Century Square Building, Seattle, WA Courthouse Square, Vashon Island, WA Daniels Real Estate, F5 Tower, Seattle, WA ERA Care, University House at Wallingford, Seattle, WA Gardner Corporation, Grove Plaza, Boise, ID Gerding Edlen, Portland, OR Golden Umbrella Award, One Reel, Seattle, WA Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Willamette University, Salem, OR Hines Development Corporation, One Twelfth @ Twelfth Office Building, Bellevue, WA Hughes Landing, The Woodlands, TX Jacob Lawrence Golden Umbrella Award, One Reel, Seattle, WA Jewish Family Services, site-specific sculpture, Seattle, WA Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, Althea Stroum Award, WA The Keg Restaurants, Vancouver, Canada - several locations King County Public Library, Shoreline, WA Kirkland Gateway Project, City of Kirkland, Kirkland, WA Kirkland and Ellis, LLP, Palo Alto, CA Kubota Garden, Seattle, WA Lane Powell Spears Lubersky, LLP, Seattle, WA Lennar Corporation, The Lakes, West Covina, CA Lerner Corporation, Fallsgrove Plaza, Rockville, MD Meydenbauer Performing Arts Center, Bellevue, WA Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner, WA Nordstrom Corporation (seven national locations)
BIBLIOGRAPHY Morser, Julie Goetz, “Art as a Badge of Positivity,” Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber, November 26, 2020 Schlosser, Kurt, “Is Tech Squeezing Out Seattle Artists? Not this Sculptor, Whose Work Fits Into New Urban Landscape,” Geekwire, May 18, 2017, https://www.geekwire.com/2017/tech-squeezingseattle artists-not-sculptorwhose-work-fits-new-urban-landscape/ “Tried and True Meets Fresh and New,” Sun Valley Property News, August 2016, pp.119-122 Forsen, John, “A Look at Julie Speidel’s Outdoor Sculpture, ‘Petros’,” Seattle Channel, Documentary Forsen, John, “Julie Speidel at Tacoma Art Museum”, Vimeo, January 2016 “New Art Inside and Out”, Insight Commemorative, Vol 4, Issue 1, January 2015, pp, 22-25. Dambrot, Shana, “The Art of Appeal”, Palm Springs Life, December 31, 2014 “Local Sculptor draws on Geology as her works dot the country” Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber, Vol 59, No. 46, pp. 1, 13. Bossick, Karen, “Art for the Ages”, The Weekly Sun, Gallery Walk Edition pp. 1, 3 Wagonfeld, Judy, “In the Studio, Julie Speidel,” Metalsmith Magazine, Vol. 34, No 3 2014, pp. 18-19 Rooney, E. Ashley, “100 Artists of the Northwest,” Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2013 pp. 190-191 Forsen, John, “Special Exhibit Installation at Bloedel Reserve,” Seattle Channel, Documentary September 2013 “On the up-and-up”, Pacific Northwest Magazine, Seattle Times, September 29, 2013, p. 22 “Best of the West – Our Twelve Favorite Things to Do This Month”, Sunset Magazine, September 2013, p. 14 “Bloedel Reserve Becomes Outdoor Gallery for Speidel Sculptures”, Bainbridge Island Review, August 2013 Brangian, Davis, “Beyond Winslow”, Seattle Magazine, August 2013, p. 83 Luxe Interiors + Design, Pacific Northwest Edition, Vol. 11 Issue 1, Winter 2013, pp. 150-151
Winston Wächter Fine Art 530 West 25th Street New York, NY 10001 (212) 255-2718 nygallery@winstonwachter.com Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 6pm