Julie Orr

My work is both a commentary on the pervasive societal ills of disposability and detachment in contemporary culture and an active participant in the same environment it criticizes. I demonstrate my simultaneous revulsion and fascination with disposable goods. I photograph myself with such chemically toxic substances as cosmetics, sodas and cleaning products, speaking to their harmful nature while also reveling in their shimmering color. Their clever design is no accident and I find myself giving into the marketing seduction. The same goes for such other harmful behaviors as obsessive use of cell phones and social media, and rabid consumption of reality television and gossip magazines. In my work, I want to show we are the consumers and the consumed.

I embrace excess with piles of wires, trash, screaming colors and all sorts of environmentally unfriendly materials such as foil, resin and neon spray paint. It feels a bit over the top at times, screaming for attention like an ad in a swarm of commercialism. We have become hoarders and foragers, sifting through endless stuff: accumulated waste, material goods, and information. This proliferation of technology has enabled greater access to our global community, but leaves us feeling ...

Claremont Graduate University | Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art | 2013

Kenyon College | Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art | 2004

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
What I have to offer | Conchi Sanford Curatorial and LGT! | Fullerton, CA | 2014

CONCESSION to the OBSESSION | Claremont Graduate University | Claremont, CA | 2013

Intangible Navigations | Frontrunner Gallery | New York, NY | 2011

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Artist Liaison for an Odyssey – 10 Years at TAM | Torrance Art Museum | Torrance, CA | September 12th, 2015

Revolving Artist Series | Spacedust Gallery | Los Angeles, CA |2015

5th Annual Juried Exhibition | Gallery 110 | Seattle, Washington | February 2015

4th Annual Armstrong National 2-D Competition Exhibition | Armstrong Atlantic State University Gallery | Atlanta, Georgia | January 2015

PLASTICS ARE FOREVER | Illuminoidal Arts | Long Beach, CA | 2014

Salivate | LGT | Fullerton, CA | 2014

ARTRA in MAS ATTACK | Torrance Art Museum | Torrance, CA | 2013

Plastic Sunshine | Ground Space Project | Los Angeles, CA | 2013
You are the ocean and I am drowning | Claremont Graduate University | Claremont, CA | 2013

BOOM | dA Art Center for the Arts | Pomona, CA | 2013

CON:DENSE | Altered Space Gallery | Venice, CA | 2013

META: Self-Referential | Gallery 263 | Cambridge, MA | 2013

Paint Can | Pomona Packing Plant | Pomona, CA | 2013
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