Julia Dault (b. 1977, Toronto) is best known for her abstract paintings and Formica and Plexiglass sculptures.
Dault’s works explore color, form, texture, and materials, as well as the creative potential of industrial products. Her recent works underscore the value of engaging with the intricate, often beautiful, and little-considered systems that lie just beyond any given surface and expand on her interest in layering, patterning, and the interdependence of color and form. As Dault applies and removes coatings of paint with brushes, sponges, combs, and other unconventional tools, new details and optical illusions arise.
Dault’s experimentations with surface, tactility, geometry, color, and expressive juxtapositions infuse her paintings with vibrant energy that compel the viewer to look closely and discover unexpected moments of visual complexity. As the systems that underpin modern life become more complex, and, by extension, more opaque, Dault’s artworks provide an invitation to engage actively with our everyday surroundings.
Julia Dault has been the subject of solo exhibitions at 3:e Våningen, Gothenburg, Sweden; the Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada; and The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto, Canada. Her paintings and sculptures were featured in the New Museum’s triennial and the Marrakesh and Gwangju Biennales as well as group exhibitions at such institutions as Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam, Netherlands; the Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw, Poland; the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Houston, TX; and the Pérez Art Museum, Miami, FL, and are in the permanent collections of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, IL; and the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada, among others.
Dault worked on a project for the Dental and Orthodontic Clinics at The Hospital for Sick Children, often referred to as Sick Kids, in Toronto. Her intricate patterns and vibrant colors transformed the walls in the patient exam and waiting rooms of the Dental Department, creating a brighter, more inspired, and relaxing environment.