Julie Ashton

Born in upstate New York, I was raised in Northern California. These days I divide my time between New York and California, but I have also spent a significant amount of time in the South an experience which has influenced my work to be sure.


I draw inspiration from my domestic experience and from nature in my environs: phenomena such as light, time, animals and plants. I hope that my art inspires the viewer to engage in the beauty of the everyday and to become aware of the present moment as a source of mystery and joy. Having said that the gestalt of some of my work is quite lonely. My artwork is informed by conceptual photography, surrealism and by my studies. Also other artists loom large in my own consciousness, and I have deep affection for artists such as Robert Smithson, Francis Bacon, Björk, Kiki Smith and Frida Kahlo. My painting style ranges from tightly controlled to loose and painterly, but I must admit that I have little formal training. I am an avid reader in subject matter that runs the gamut. Readings in mysticism, Tibetan and Zen Buddhism, philosophy and physics have greatly impacted my work. Open to different media, I don’t work within a rigid framework and choose instead to follow ideas and images that I fi...

I was educated at the Cate School and at Columbia University.