Great expectations Sculpture

Sculptor Julia Hanzl was born in 1982 into a family of artists in Vienna. She graduated from the University of Vienna and studied for several terms under Prof. Lorenz in the Ceramics Department of the University of Applied Arts. Besides her independent artistic works, she has realised numerous commissions in the last years, among others: portraits, urn designs for Bestattung Wien (Vienna funeral service), a life-size graveyard angel made of bronze for a Viennese crypt, implementation of a large-scale aluminium version of the sculpture “Who killed Smiley?” for the Cserni Collection, and the realisation of her china sculpture “Eve & Eve” for the Vienna Porcelain Manufactory Augarten. Close collaboration with artists dedicated to Fantastic Realism resulted in various group exhibitions, both in Austria and abroad, a solo exhibition in the Vienna Phantastenmuseum, and her representation in the Phantastenmuseum by the sculpture “Lex naturalis”. Her participation in various competitions paved the way for exhibitions abroad, like the juried sculpture exhibition “Clay?V” in Washington. In addition to numerous publications on her oeuvre, there are two exhibition catalogues on her solo exhibition in the Vienna Phantastenmuseum and at Galerie Artzwina, respectively. In 2014, an acknowledged expert jury deemed her among the most important figurative artists worldwide. Thanks to this, two of her sculptures have found their way into the art book “500 Figures in Clay” (Lark Crafts/New York). She collaborates with renowned art galleries such as Galerie Artzwina in Vienna and KH5 Gallery in Zurich, also with gallery owner Nick Treadwell, and Gallery Sikabonyi, a contemporary glass gallery implementing a glass version of her sculpture “Who killed Smiley?”. Together with a German jewellery-maker, she turns her ideas into pieces of jewellery. Collaboration with artists from other lines of work have resulted in creative video productions and photographic stagings of her sculptures. Her sculptures are realised as unique pieces made of ceramic as well as in editions limited to five to twelve pieces in bronze, aluminium, brass and china. She is currently working on a new series for which she combines stuffed animals with ceramic human heads.