Julie Fei-Fan Balzer
printmaking + painting + collage
Based outside of Boston, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer is a painter, printmaker, and collage artist who constructs vibrant compositions. Her artwork investigates the interplay of identity and perception, inviting viewers to take a longer look. Julie works in layers, both physically and metaphorically, exploring what is visible and what is concealed. Passionate about inspiring others, she shares her expertise through in-person workshops and her online classroom. Julie's achievements include high-profile clients, multiple publications - including her own book - and exhibits in New York City and Greater Boston. She is a graduate of Brown University.
"As a biracial person who is usually assumed to be white, and a rapidly aging fat woman navigating a society that prioritizes women who are young and thin, I'm acutely aware of the dissonance between external appearance and internal realities."
I am interested in the interplay of identity and perception. Identity is how I see myself and perception is how you use your personal experience to classify or recognize me. The natural clash between these sibling notions helps to create the format of my work. I mix techniques from painting, printmaking, collage, and drawing, always making an effort to integrate the different art disciplines and even hide which technique was used where. I work in layers, probing at what is visible and what is concealed. I actively work on burying details in the layers, inviting viewers to take a longer look.
Someone recently asked me why this matters to me? Why do I want there to be that element of surprise? Why do I so enjoy building up the layers and "hiding" things in my artwork? The answer is borrowed from Walt Whitman: “I am large, I contain multitudes.”
We are all more than we appear to be. So, too, is my artwork. Bold, bright, and colorful from afar, the work changes when you view it closely. A curator once told me that she liked my work the more and more she stared at it because she kept seeing new things. I want my paintings to be like the best kind of people: more and more interesting as you get to know them.
Someone recently asked me why this matters to me? Why do I want there to be that element of surprise? Why do I so enjoy building up the layers and "hiding" things in my artwork? The answer is borrowed from Walt Whitman: “I am large, I contain multitudes.”
We are all more than we appear to be. So, too, is my artwork. Bold, bright, and colorful from afar, the work changes when you view it closely. A curator once told me that she liked my work the more and more she stared at it because she kept seeing new things. I want my paintings to be like the best kind of people: more and more interesting as you get to know them.
More
You can view recent artwork HERE.
Buy artwork HERE. (If you don't see what you're looking for, drop me a line.)
Join the Free Friday Newsletter HERE.
Buy artwork HERE. (If you don't see what you're looking for, drop me a line.)
Join the Free Friday Newsletter HERE.