VERGENNES — Artist Julia Jensen’s artwork is display at Northern Daughters 221 Main St. gallery in Vergennes. The show, “Betrays The Solitude,” is a solo exhibit of Jensen’s new work. It is on view by appointment through Aug. 29. NoDa also offers multi-faceted digital tours so you can have a personalized gallery viewing experience from home.
This is Jensen’s first solo exhibit at Northern Daughters, though the gallery has proudly been exhibiting her work for the past four years. Some of the work was created during quarantine. She says, “This time of quarantine has reinforced my understanding of the internality of my process. While my work might ostensibly seem to be about the external world it is actually about my internal world. It is like diving deeper into the ocean when a storm approaches. I can hear the crashing and frothing of the waves but down where I am working it is still.” 
Jensen’s work offers the opportunity to submerge oneself in a space of beauty and stillness; as the edges of the forms in her work are blurred and softened, the viewer can find themselves transfixed. The oil and encaustic work is clearly of landscapes Jensen beautifully and bravely leans into abstraction. “My landscapes are built from memories and ideas of past experiences,” she says. “I find colors and impressions that start me on my way toward making a painting. At some point in the process the painting takes over and I am just listening to it, waiting for it to tell me what it wants.” Her memories, expressed in this way, become universal. 
NoDa gallery managers say that if you contemplate her work you will recognize the light on distant trees or feel the cool of the shaded grass beneath your feet. Maybe you’ve walked toward that hazy horizon line and can find the sweet smell of the ocean even though it lies out of sight. 
A graduate of Tulane University with a B.A. in Art History, Jensen has been painting for over 20 years. She has worked on her own and with many local and regional teachers and artists including Bill Hunt, Ric Campman and Julia Zanes. Her work has been exhibited and represented widely, including at the Thorne-Sagendorph Gallery, McGowan Fine Art and Nantucket Looms. Julia Jensen has been living and working in Vermont since 1996.
To view the show at Northern Daughters, schedule an appointment by emailing [email protected] or calling (802) 877-2173.