Julia Keenan Surrey, United Kingdom
Keenan holds a BA (Hons) in Fine Art. They have exhibited widely across prestigious cultural institutions, project spaces, and grassroots networks, notably at Tate Modern [Tate Lates], Cambridge University Museums, Jane Austen’s House, Shanghai Museum of Glass and various London art projects, alongside international artist-run spaces. They live and work in the UK. https://linktr.ee/juliakeenan
As a post-digital painter and sculptor, my practice investigates the volatile threshold where hyper-digital networks collide with visceral, human biology. Moving between oil painting, sculpture, and film, I explore the friction of living in an era where our primary modes of communication and memory are entirely mediated by virtual platforms. My work operates in direct dialogue with radical eco-philosophy, challenging the "exhausted image" by reclaiming haptic memory through tactile, physical manipulation. By treating the gallery space as a diagnostic archive, I look closely at biological and socio-technological thresholds—such as the human mouth or skin—investigating how fragile living systems retain their identity and agency when forced through the clinical constraints of the digital age.
Working at the intersection of site-specific installation, sculpture, and film, my practice explores the anxiety of imminent ecological and technological transitions. Grounded in the eco-philosophical movements of Félix Guattari and Gustav Metzger, I construct immersive, diagnostic environments that challenge how we physically and psychologically retain memory in a culture moving rapidly beyond the boundaries of the physical world. Through the tactile textures of oil painting and assemblage, I actively work against the sterile detachment of digital media to reclaim a visceral, haptic memory. My installations frequently frame the body as a vulnerable socio-technological frontier, forcing a direct confrontation with the systemic and corporate networks that seek to intervene in organic nature.
Artwork
Tender Vessels , Photomontage Film , 2019
Strange Chimera , Mixed Media Sculpture , 2017
Vermilion Hue, Mixed Media Sculpture , 2015
Vermilion Hue, Mixed Media Sculpture , 2015
TENDER VESSELS - THE MOVIE, Experimental Film , 2020
TENDER VESSELS - Julia Keenan, Photographic Sculpture in the form of a Cross , 2019
Everything is a Maquette , Photographic Sculpture , 2019
Projects and exhibitions
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'Lip Lines' curated by Plazuli and Naj Shirazi18/08/2026 — 28/08/2026 For the Sake of the Species is a post-(mass) media era installation that explores the friction between digital permanence and ecological fragility. The work is deeply rooted in the artist’s firsthand collaboration with Gustav Metzger, having been selected by Metzger as a student to contribute a proposal to his definitive 'Remember Nature'... [Read more] |
Ha.aB Art Space, Barcelona Spain | Details |
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Rise Up and Bloom01/05/2024 |
Art in the Garden - Little Forest Land Art selected by Oliver Sumner [CVAN SE], Hampshire | Details |
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MOTHER TONGUE10/04/2022 — 20/04/2022 UCA Global presents Students’ Art and Design Exhibition To celebrate the cultural diversity of our global student community, UCA is delighted to announce an exciting opportunity for all students. We invite you to respond to the theme MOTHER TONGUE for an art and design exhibition organised by the University. The theme - MOTHER TONGUE... [Read more] |
James Hockey Gallery University of the Creative Arts, Farnham Surrey | Details |
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'Full Immersion'Digital Short Film, 5:53. Looped Partial Sound.2022 Part of the MA cohort respose to the house 'Subtext'01/03/2022 Jane Austen’s House Proposal – Julia Keenan. https://vimeo.com/691034862 [video link to Vimeo] Digital Short Film with Collage Overlays, 5:53. Looped. Partial Sound. 2022 Full Immersion ‘The Poetics of Space is a 1957 book by French architect and design theorist Gaston Bachelard. A seminal fusion of the... [Read more] |
Jane Austins House Chawton, Chawton Hampshire UK | Details |
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Laboratory of Dissent 201901/11/2019 — 12/12/2019 A collaborative residency undertaken by the Chapel Arts Studios Associate Artists [C.A.S.] exploring 'Dissent' as a methodology. Artists worked in small collectives in various locations on campus and remotely. The cumulative production of work was brought together within the gallery for a 'happening' and conversation acting as a full stop to... [Read more] |
Winchester School of Art, Winchester | Details |
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The Secret Life of Materials 2019 Residency01/03/2019 — 31/05/2019 The 'Platform' residency is awarded by the Contemporary Visual Arts Network [South East] to a selected Graduated from an educational institution within the South East, I was selected by ASPEX Gallery just after my Graduation in 2015. The opportunity allows time and space to reflect, make and explore practice within the public realm of the... [Read more] |
Aspex Gallery - Artist Studio, Portsmouth U.K. | Details |
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Everything is a Maquette 2018 - RESIDENCY15/04/2018 — 18/05/2018 Selected proposal to explore practice within the public facing gallery situated at ASPEX, included an artist talk to visiting artist collective 'Jelly' from Reading. |
Aspex Gallery - Artist Studio, Portsmouth U.K | Details |