“It’s valuable to have spiritual awakenings while making an abstract painting, a lot of my inspiration comes from my past in my formative years.” —— Julia Dault
Toronto native and Brooklyn-based artist Julia Dault began her career as an art critic with a degree in Art History, and later turned her passion and creativity in art making. Dault’s paintings and sculptures involve expressive, gestural, industrial, and burst forms and compositions, which are imbued with an abundance of energy through her experiments with unconventional tools like sponges, combs, and textured fabrics, as opposed to traditional tools such as paint brushes.
Often inspired by or directly quoting funny signs on the streets of Brooklyn and pop song titles and lyrics, Dault names her works with direct reference to her inspirations, just as the title of the present lot recalls Spice Girls’ 1996 hit song 2 Become 1.
“Come a little bit closer baby
Get it on, get it on
'Cause tonight is the night when two become one”
—— Spice Girls, ‘2 Become 1’ (1996)
2 Become 1 is an arresting and potent example of Dault’s unique take on abstraction. Using only black and white to form dense and dynamic patterns on the fabric that wraps around the surface of the work, the artist adds a relief element of a varied pattern at the centre, achieving a highly dynamic optical illusion of contrast and fluid movement. By introducing sculptural element into her work, Dault transforms the painting into a multidimensional presence, pulsating with its intentional busy and vivid visual arrangement.
Dault has exhibited internationally, with recent shows including the ongoing solo exhibition Never Odd or Even (19 January – 25 February 2023), and Days of Our Lives (11 September – 31 October 2020), both at Bradley Ertaskiran Gallery, Montreal. Her group exhibitions include Sculptures by Painters at Daniel Faria Gallery, Toronto (2 October – 6 November 2021) and Cadio Limón at Galeria Perlaires, Mallorca (2020). In 2021, Dault’s works have been added to the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.
Provenance
Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York Acquired from the above by the present owner