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Julia Vance

Julia Vance

Julia Vance

Pietrasanta, Italy

Calligrapher, sculptor

Biography

Sculptor and calligrapher Julia Vance ( www.juliavance.no ) was born in 1968, and studied art and calligraphy in both Norway and England.

She has participated in group shows in Norway and England, and solo exhibited in Norway at amongst Galleri Falsen, Norsk Form (The Norwegian Art Council) and in front of the Norwegian Parliamet in Oslo. In 2005 Vance received a 3-year Work Grant from the Norwegian Government (2005-2007). Her comissioned work is found onboard the Norwegian Cruiseliner Trollfjord, Hurtigruta, in front of the Norwegian Television Broadcasting Company and in the foyй of the Munch Museum, Oslo. She is a member of the Norwegian Skulpture Organisation (board-member 2005-2007), The Royal British Society of Sculptors and SKRIFT (Norwegian Society for Calligraphy) and her work is in the private collections of amongst others John Hightower (USA) and Mosebekk Tegne- og maleskole (Norway). Since 2006 Julia Vance has worked in perhaps the most unique sculptor studio in the world, Studio Sem, in Pietrasanta, Italy. Here she creates her lettersculptures in marble and bronze.

Work-experience
2006 - Working with letter- and wordsculptures in marble, Pietrasanta, Italy
2001 -2006 Part-time teacher in art, secondary-school, Norway
1993 - ”Calligraphy and letterinscription”, self-employed, Norway
1993 Lecturing in calligraphy and letterdesign at the Stately Art and Craft School of
Oslo (SHKS) and at the University of Gjøvik and Drammen, Norway
1990 Apprentice with letterdesigner, calligrapher and lettercarver Tom Perkins, England
1989 -1990 Assistent for Art Director, TP-Reklamebyrå, Norway
1989 Lloyd Christie Garden architecture, design-work, England

Education
1997-2001 University of Oslo (HiO), teacher-training, Norway
1991-1992 Roehampton Inst. of Higher Education, Calligraphy Department, England
1990-1991 School of Graphic Design (SFGD), Norway
1988-1989 Sogn Craft School (Sogn Yrkesskole), graphic production course, Norway
1987-1988 Sail-training ship Christian Radich, machine and deck course, Norway
1984-1987 Fagerborg College, esthetical art course, Norway

Comissions
2004 Inscription on bell-tower in concrete and lime-wood, Holt Graveyard, Norway
2001 Six wall-hung letter-inscriptions in slate on-board Hurtigruta ’MS Trollfjord’
(Norwegian coastal-liner), each 4 – 7 meters
1999 Stone-inscripsjon for Otto Sverdrup-monument (by Per Ung), Norway
1994 Glass-inscripsjon in the Munch Museum’s foyè ( 3,2m x 4,7m ), Norway
1991 Consultant for the Vigeland Museum during completion of the Vigeland Park,
Norway
1992 Stone-inscription for the Norwegian Television Broadcasting company (NRK), in connection with the expansion of Nils Aas’ sculpture-group, Norway

Exhibitions
2008 Oslo Town Hall, Norway / group-show
2006-2008 Bærums Verk, ’sculpture-exhibition by the river’, Norway / group-show
2007 Leichester University, sculpture-exhibition, England / group-show
2006-2007 Aker Brygge, ’sculpture-exhibition on the docks’, Norway / group-show
2006 Avistegnernes Hus, Norway / group-show
2005 Militærkasernene in Fredrikstad, Norway / group-show
2004 Exhibited the sculpture ’Tenketid’ in front of the Norwegian Parliament
(Eidsvolds Plass), Norway
2004 Bogstad Gård, Norway / group-show
2002 Atelier Skårer, Norway / group-show
2001 Galleri Adamstuen, Norway / solo-show
2000 Various Deichmann-libraries in the Oslo area, Norway / group-show
2000 Summer-exhibition in Seljord, Norway / group-show
1998 Eidsberg Kunstforening, Norway / group-show
1996 Lipp, Norway / solo-show
1996 Norsk Form, ’Galleri Falsen’, Norway / solo-show
1992 Atelier Skårer, Norway / solo-show

Collections
John Hightower, USA
Mosebekk Tegne- og maleskole, Norway
Rudolf Steiner Høyskolen, Norway

Member of
2008 - Royal British Society of Sculptors (RBS)
2002 - Norwegian Skulpture Organisation (NBF), board-member 2005-2007
2001 - SKRIFT, board-member 2001-2007
1993 - Norwegian Graphic Designers (Grafill)

Grants
Grafill (material-grant), 2006
The Norwegian State’s 3 years work-grant for artists, first received in 2005
Rotary (travel-grant in Japan), 1999
Wilhelmsens Rederi, 1990
Liss og Arnfinn Heies Legat, 1990

Author works

VI — bronze

...‘VI’ means ‘US’ in Norwegian, and the two letters in the word ‘VI’ are what this sculpture physically is made up of. The two capitals are like two individuals which together can make an ‘us’. They form a unity by slightly overlapping eachother. The letter tops continue up and around to the sculpture’s back, where they grow together into one. As they arrive up again below the letters they seem like a blanket covering their own feet. The letters in their togetherness are in themselves protected. The blanket is soft but also tight, letting nobody else slip into this unity.
Bronze, 40 x 30 x 40 cm, 2007

VI — White marble

...‘VI’ means ‘US’ in Norwegian, and the two letters in the word ‘VI’ are what this sculpture physically is made up of. The two capitals are like two individuals which together can make an ‘us’. They form a unity by slightly overlapping eachother. The letter tops continue up and around to the sculpture’s back, where they grow together into one. As they arrive up again below the letters they seem like a blanket covering their own feet. The letters in their togetherness are in themselves protected. The blanket is soft but also tight, letting nobody else slip into this unity.
Marble

Tenketid

‘tenketid’ is how you would say ‘time to think’ in Norwegian. If you sit on the sculpture for a while, as if it were a bench, then the word ‘tenketid’ will be imprinted to your back side when you get up. This sculpture was exhibited in front of the Norwegian Parliament in 2005.
Grey Iddefjord Granit, 50x150x45cm, 2005

MOЯ

’MOЯ’ is the Norwegian word for ‘mother’. First you see the ‘R’ as back to front, inclining that you may go into the piece and read it from inside. From inside the sculpture you can read it as ‘ROM’, which is the Norwegian word for ‘room/space’.
White Afyon marble, 69x41x54cm, 2006

MOЯ

’MOЯ’ is the Norwegian word for ‘mother’. First you see the ‘R’ as back to front, inclining that you may go into the piece and read it from inside. From inside the sculpture you can read it as ‘ROM’, which is the Norwegian word for ‘room/space’.
White Afyon marble, 69x41x54cm, 2006

MOЯ

’MOЯ’ is the Norwegian word for ‘mother’. First you see the ‘R’ as back to front, inclining that you may go into the piece and read it from inside. From inside the sculpture you can read it as ‘ROM’, which is the Norwegian word for ‘room/space’.
White Afyon marble, 69x41x54cm, 2006

MOЯ

’MOЯ’ is the Norwegian word for ‘mother’. First you see the ‘R’ as back to front, inclining that you may go into the piece and read it from inside. From inside the sculpture you can read it as ‘ROM’, which is the Norwegian word for ‘room/space’.
White Afyon marble, 69x41x54cm, 2006

f

In ‘f’ I seek to capture the sward swaying movement of the hand executing a letter ‘f’. Like the energy of blood rushing through a vein. I create lettershapes, sometimes only part of a letter. I see the lines and shapes as possible human expressions. Letters can be read or just seen as shapes, or both. They are common in that they belong to everyone. But they are also made personal each time a hand executes them.
Carrara Bianoco Marble, 115x80x35 cm, 2007

"Du"

‘Du’ is the Norwegian word for ‘you’. If you write with your hand in the air, not depending on a surface to leave the traces on, then you make a certain hand movement, a known pattern of changing directions, pressure and speed. These movements I seek to capture in stone. This is a word which carries for me a long story of thoughts.
White Statuario marble, 30x40x25 cm, 2008

Du

‘du’ is the Norwegian word for ‘you’. If you write with your hand in the air, not depending on a surface to leave the traces on, then you make a certain hand movement, a known pattern of changing directions, pressure and speed. These movements I seek to capture in stone. This is a word which carries for me a long story of thoughts.
White Statuario marble, 30x40x25 cm, 2008

@

The symbol of ‘@’ enables us today to communicate by e-mail across the World instantly. In this sculpture I play with the shape and the idea of the ‘@’. The material is millions of years older than the symbol. This piece of sculpture will never fly through the internet.
Grey Bardiglio Marble, base in stainless steel, Hight sculpture 50cm, hight base 110cm, 2008

@ from above

The symbol of ‘@’ enables us today to communicate by e-mail across the World instantly. In this sculpture I play with the shape and the idea of the ‘@’. The material is millions of years older than the symbol. This piece of sculpture will never fly through the inter-net.
Grey Bardiglio Marble, base in stainless steel, Hight sculpture 50cm, hight base 110cm, 2008
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