Julie Trudel's practice of abstract painting focuses on the material aspect of color, trying to reveal it in a brand-new form. In the studio, she defines work protocols and imposes constraints upon herself with the hope that they will pave the way to greater innovations. Julie wishes to tap into the perceptual complexity generated by the painting, which draws us in by its visual impact, its quality as an object and its obvious yet puzzling production process.
At the onset of a project, Julie picks a restricted color range, black and white, for example. Stimulated by the challenge this limitation brings, she begins a series of experiments in the studio, stretched over a long period of time. She concentrates strongly on the material properties of color, paying attention to its dilution and its viscosity, as well as on the processes and tools used to apply it. She makes use of controlled dripping methods to generate all-over compositions. Her creation process is as methodical as it is arbitrary; rules and chance are tightly entangled. Thus the displacement of liquid paint on the support and the mixing of colors prior to dripping introduce unpredictable parameters in the equation.
By trial and error, often through failed attempts, unique visual effects emerge from matter. Color appears as if unseen, defying our perceptual processes. Such effects may evoke digital imagery, thread weaving patterns or geological formations, while reminding the viewer of op-art. The pictorial space thus created oscillates from regularity to instability, from depth to surface, from visual to material. Julie's practice is informed by the experimental tradition of abstract painting, a fertile testing ground where the emergence of new forms is still possible.
Julie Trudel's residency at NARS is made possible by the support of Canada Council for the Arts.
