Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.

My name is Julia Marks and I was born in Kansas in 2001. I’ve been living and making art in Chicago since 2019, when I came to attend The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Thus far, my creative output has consisted of paintings, drawings, collages, sculptural work, prints, writing, and most recently performance/theatre. I’ve always possessed an affinity for creating in a variety of different ways simultaneously and without limitations. My process is rooted in expansion, intuition, self-discovery, and play making artwork is my method of accessing ultimate freedom in this lifetime. I just had my first solo exhibition ‘La Viña’ with Bodock Gallery at a new project space in Pilsen, and it felt like a definitive representation and marker of my practice up until this point; I was very happy with how it all came to be.

When you make paintings, do you think of them as paintings or do you formulate them in a different context?

Within the last couple of years, I very rarely make free flowing gestural marks on canvas and follow that through to a completed piece; and if I do, it is eventually covered up. The actions taking place to create the works consist of collaging, covering with a solid color/fabric/image that’s been manipulated, and making very specific and subtle final step painterly marks that feel like an accessory of sorts or an aesthetic enhancement. Even though I am technically adding through layers of paint application or stretching material, I view the actual ‘painting’ aspect in my pieces more as erasing. I am very quick to disagree with my decisions, and I always allow my intuition to guide me towards transforming the work into something new—I like to reject viewing any move I make as fixed or precious. I haven’t considered calling these works anything else, since they function within a space as paintings do; hanging on or leaning against a wall.

Is your process a secret? What can you tell us about how you work?

My process is not a secret at all. I love being transparent about how I work because I really do see and feel it to be outside of myself to a certain capacity, making is a magical and serendipitous experience; and those are always valuable to share. I go to the same spot every morning to wake up through sitting smoking drawing and writing; it’s my dojo and I go walking from there and then end up at the studio. Repeatedly going on walks is an integral part of my process; I find real harmony and am shown people places art objects and things to use for inspiration every time I step outside. I bring all of this into the studio physically and energetically; but especially through use of found material and surfaces.

Is there anything you’ve read recently that’s inspiring your work right now?

Not really, but here are a few things I’ve been thinking about:
1. I must create a system, or be enslaved by another man’s. I will not reason and compare; my business is to create. – William Blake
2. Similarly: “I think I’ll drop out
Become a no-man
And live my rules”
Mark E. Smith
3. There is nothing to worry about
4. I want you to look into my eyes and see that I am right there, right under the surface
5. BodyShed blood and receive the spirit – Saint Joseph the Hesychast
6. My dreams
7. God needs me happy
8. Paradise
9. Heaven is here
10. OM MANI PADME HUM

Do you think your work takes on other mediums or roles outside painting?

Yes!!! I draw and write poetry everyday, I make a lot of art in nature like temporary shrines, I make tiktoks, I have a blog where I hoard and post all of the wonderful and cool things I find online, I curate, and I take a ton of photos of art and beauty in life. I have visions of clothing I’d like to design, movies I want to make, props and sets I wanna construct, books I want to write, and exhibitions I want to put on. I have the least amount of “ideas” or visions for the work I have made so far in my career; those are supremely primal and constant; more and more it feels like that’s been the preliminary groundwork for the vast creative world I’m looking to build upon. For the closing of my recent solo exhibition, my friend Allegra Harvard and I debuted a new vignette titled He Did Not Die. We spontaneously co-wrote/directed it, created a set, casted it, and made props and costumes. Even though I had never worked in this medium of creation, it felt so deeply aligned and exciting, and having the access to take advantage of the space and of our free will and creative synergy was such a dream; I will definitely be doing more. No matter what I do though, I will always always always at least be drawing writing and painting. and collaging.

Do you consider space when you show your work?

I really do not; I have made such a high volume of work and shown very little in comparison, so I haven’t found that to be super relevant to think about while I’m working. My work is made amongst piles and piles; very much a part of and not separate from the tools or materials they’re made with. A lot of the work that was included in my recent solo exhibition has been living in my studio for up to a few years. Seeing it outside of my literal jungle, hung up in a clean, well-lit space made me respect my decisions and process from a new and non-personal perspective; the work commanded a lot more attention when it could breathe.

How do you find your work changing right now?

A lot to be honest. I’m finding that I care less and less about the specifics of every visual element in the work. I want my pieces to embody a universal and loose energy; shifting outside of and evolving past the aesthetic framework I’ve maintained and gotten too comfortable with; like, let’s get weird and ugly. I’m interested in creating from the place where my individual human capability meets raw spiritual expression; making and adapting through the lens of an observer or higher state. Ultimately, choosing to follow the path of yourself aids in accepting EVERYTHING and as an artist this has begun to break me open in the best way. It’s very cool, joyful, and ultimately entertaining because I make really objectively hideous work sometimes. It’s all from me though, and I think leaning into that is the conviction I am seeking to explore and stand with. So my future work is a serious mystery and I am grateful for the opportunity to watch it unfold.

Can you tell us a memory of someone interacting with your work that frequently crosses your mind?

I curated a group exhibition ‘Polly’ at recess, a DIY gallery space in the basement of my studio space, and I included a painting of mine: it was a large canvas that had another canvas glued to it, with toy balls and beads hanging from it; all painted black. I painted it with all different shades of black paint for like 6 months straight and it does have a weight or affect that people respond to. I was in the gallery alone for the first hour or so of the opening just drinking and waiting for someone to show up. This nice guy I had never met before came in first and stood looking at this piece for quite a while. He turned to me and said “Wow, just like Rothko”. He was being totally earnest but I just started laughing, thinking about the juxtaposition between viewing a Rothko at the Art Institute and seeing my painting crammed in a tiny wooden paneled basement with red lights and like 6 foot ceilings. I felt like hot cheeto rothko but it was a moment where I recognized that I had created a successful piece that someone had a genuine reaction to. I wanna make more!!

What is something that you’ve always wanted to do and are working towards achieving?

I want to have a solo exhibition and young retrospective at a major museum or institution. I want to be undeniable!!!

Interview conducted by Amira Diaw and edited by Seth Nguyen.