In ancient times, all forms of knowledge were associated: science, art and philosophy were embodied in the figure of the scholar, who nurtured the knowledge of one discipline through his expertise in another. However, the evolution of our modern world has turned most professions and skills into specialties dedicated to a precise task. As a result, we live in a world less and less inclined to produce holistic views of Humanity and the Earth.

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Yet in the pictorial arts, as in all creative endeavors, we have never ceased to appreciate the inspiration of those who concentrate multiple skills into a singular performance. Ockham's razor* is needed to cut through the multitude of things we harbor within ourselves, when contemplation of universal causes is lacking. It's also a question of combating the impoverishment linked to the one-off activities that most people are forced to carry out against the growth of their inquisitive consciousness.

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And so, for Galerie l'Étranger, the chance to exhibit an artist with a wide range of skills and mastery was presented. Julia Langer is a brilliant student, with a fine knowledge of biology and a doctorate in psychology. From the disciplines of the mind she has not forgotten those of the body, and, despite an entourage that believed in none of her many possibilities, she has become an accomplished performer in the circus arts.

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Today, it's as a painter that this native American brings us the profound association of knowledge and culture, art and science. It's no coincidence that the successful juxtaposition of seemingly irreconcilable dualities is the remarkably strong point of her work.

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Through lines emphasized by the use of thread, we see highly controlled bodily movements whose constraint does not prevent the sensation of freedom from coming to the fore. Letting go in the very moment of a firmly held grip; being all tension yet all relaxation. The themes addressed are a tour de force: the reunification of opposites, separated by the lack of an overall image, here restored.

 

These great differences reassemble the individual in his diversity: rigorous weaving of things usually isolated into a coherent whole, the search for pictorial harmony as a quest for the human universal. The study continues with the same rigor as for images of bodies in motion, with representations of abstract ideas. With remarkable precision, Julia's carefully studied concepts appear tangible.
 

We'll be overwhelmed by so many antagonistic realities in a single, yet limpid whole, as if it were now possible to take a photograph of an abstract idea. Indeed, we'll discover a real capacity for fusion through clear works, expressing a great deal of complexity thanks to a sincere effort fueled by different life paths.

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Ultimately, what Julia Langer does is to give back to the will its possibilities; using the difference of plural experiences to search for the human quintessence. Reconciling the irresolvable by weaving together the unity of things that are usually opposed, but which nevertheless coexist in people. In this way, we mend the threads of our divided parts, showing that beyond all contradiction there exists one and the same world in which this has always coexisted, a palpable relief of realities that are superimposed in a whole that is beautiful because it is true and true because it is beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

*principle of parsimony, famous in philosophy: eliminate what is unnecessary "the simplest solution is often the best".