Although Julia Merkel has been painting for as long as she can remember, this website chronicles a body of work from 1990 to the present. The artist explores the bovine figure as a societal mirror in her cattle paintings and the relationship between mare and foal and horse and rider in her equine paintings. The overlap and intersection of legs and bodies parallels the metaphysical relationship between mother and child. Where does the mare stop? Where does the foal begin? And whose legs are whose? Ambiguity of form is an important element, and the figural groupings are close-cropped to infer an intense focus and scrutiny by the viewer. Explore the "portfolios" tab for subject specific work including the most recent series of drawings and artists' books Absence/Presence: Drawing from Grief.
After earning a BFA in Sculpture and Art History from the University of Notre Dame (graduating cum laude, and awarded the Emil T. Jacques Silver Medal of Fine Art), Merkel worked at Watermark Farm in Pennsylvania and volunteered at a L'Arche Community in Spokane, Washington before returning home to Virginia. She was awarded a full teaching fellowship from James Madison University and completed an MFA in Painting in 1992.
Julia has worn many hats over the years: Curator of the JMU Fine Art Collection, adjunct professor (at JMU, Virginia Military Institute, and the University of North Texas.) Currently, she runs the Preservation Office for JMU Libraries and has the privilege of conserving and building custom housings for Rare Books & Manuscripts in Special Collections in addition to planning and installing exhibits highlighting materials from the archives. Julia and her family live in a passive solar home on the edge of the George Washington National Forest. Her work is held in many public and private collections.
Of her interest in equine art, she states that the trait can be traced back several generations. In fact, her great grandmother’s maple palette hangs in a place of honor in her studio. (Nathalie Ferguson was the revered horsewoman in William Percy’s Lanterns on the Levee and went on to study under the tutelage of American Academic painter, Frank Duveneck.)
After earning a BFA in Sculpture and Art History from the University of Notre Dame (graduating cum laude, and awarded the Emil T. Jacques Silver Medal of Fine Art), Merkel worked at Watermark Farm in Pennsylvania and volunteered at a L'Arche Community in Spokane, Washington before returning home to Virginia. She was awarded a full teaching fellowship from James Madison University and completed an MFA in Painting in 1992.
Julia has worn many hats over the years: Curator of the JMU Fine Art Collection, adjunct professor (at JMU, Virginia Military Institute, and the University of North Texas.) Currently, she runs the Preservation Office for JMU Libraries and has the privilege of conserving and building custom housings for Rare Books & Manuscripts in Special Collections in addition to planning and installing exhibits highlighting materials from the archives. Julia and her family live in a passive solar home on the edge of the George Washington National Forest. Her work is held in many public and private collections.
Of her interest in equine art, she states that the trait can be traced back several generations. In fact, her great grandmother’s maple palette hangs in a place of honor in her studio. (Nathalie Ferguson was the revered horsewoman in William Percy’s Lanterns on the Levee and went on to study under the tutelage of American Academic painter, Frank Duveneck.)
 Julia with "Divide" |
 Nathalie in her riding habit circa 1890 |
 4 Generations |
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