Jerome AZ (September 25, 2017) – Gallery 527 announces a new exhibition, “Choose What You Create” – all new work by Julie Bernstein Engelmann, opening Oct. 7 from 5:00-8:00 pm. Each of Engelmann’s dramatic abstract paintings embodies a quality she chooses to create in her life.
“Paintings vibrate with the intention behind their creation,” Engelmann says. “So I use the painting process to consciously dive into an experience or vibration that I want to amplify.”
“For instance,” said Engelmann, “I notice that my posture aligns when my heart is open and I’m at my best spiritually, so I painted ‘Open Chest’ to focus on that aligned state. ‘Gift from a Child’ comes from an imagined experience with my childhood self where she gave me a weed. I realized weeds are wild and free and unapologetic, so I painted the gift to bring it into my life. Another painting, ‘Ask Your Body,’ is a reminder that whenever I have a question about my health or emotions, my body knows the answer and will reveal it if I ask.”
Gallery owner Donna Chesler says, “The paintings are like personal stories, only just their distilled essence. Each one has a very specific feeling, which is unusual in abstract art.”
Engelmann’s lush abstracts have won numerous awards. She was honored with a retrospective exhibit, Being Spirit, at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Altoona, Pennsylvania. Site Coordinator Barbara Hollander stated, “Julie Bernstein Engelmann combines passages of poured and brushed paint that remind one of stained glass creations. Her technique relies partly on many years of study and partly on an intuitive, creative interaction with what she refers to as the painting spirit. The resulting works are spiritually resonant and ineffably uplifting.”
Engelmann holds an MFA from UCLA and a BA from Barnard College, where she studied with Milton Resnick, first-generation Abstract Expressionist. She teaches Luscious Abstractions on the faculty of the Sedona Arts Center School of the Arts.
“Choose What You Create” will be on view at Gallery 527 in Jerome from October 7 through December 29.
For more information about the Jerome Art Walk please contact Donna at 928.649.2277.