Julia Berkman is a Boston-based abstract artist whose work explores color, gesture, and emotional balance through intuitive and expressive compositions. She completed her MFA at the Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts and has since exhibited in a range of group and solo exhibitions. Berkman’s practice reflects both rigorous academic training and a lifelong inclination toward imaginative play, resulting in work that feels simultaneously thoughtful and alive.
From a young age, Berkman was deeply engaged with drawing and visual invention. As a child, she spent hours sketching small figures and designing colorful, patterned outfits for them. This early fascination with color, rhythm, and form planted the seeds for a creative language that continues to evolve in her contemporary abstract work. Even now, traces of that early joy and curiosity remain present, transformed into sophisticated visual explorations.
The Transition From Representation to Abstraction
Berkman’s artistic foundation is rooted in representational training, which gave her a strong command of structure, proportion, and composition. Over time, however, her focus shifted away from depicting recognizable forms and toward exploring the expressive possibilities of abstraction. This transition happened gradually as she became increasingly captivated by color and form and the many ways they could be manipulated to convey emotion.
Rather than abandoning representation entirely, Berkman carries its discipline into her abstract work. The underlying balance, spatial awareness, and compositional clarity remain, even as her paintings move freely into nonrepresentational territory. This fusion allows her work to feel grounded while remaining open, intuitive, and emotionally resonant.
Color, Gesture, and Feminine Whimsy
Julia Berkman’s paintings are characterized by bold color palettes, gestural movement, and a playful yet intentional use of pattern. Her work often balances minimalism with expressionism, pairing reduced forms with energetic brushwork. This combination creates compositions that feel dynamic without becoming chaotic.
A subtle sense of feminine whimsy runs through her work, not as ornamentation but as emotional openness and curiosity. Berkman embraces imperfection, asymmetry, and spontaneity, allowing each painting to develop organically. Her gestures feel personal and embodied, revealing the presence of the artist through movement and mark-making.
Pattern plays an important role in her visual language. She experiments with repetition and rhythm while maintaining a hand-drawn, intuitive quality. These patterns never feel rigid. Instead, they contribute to the sense of play and exploration that defines her practice.
Working Across Mediums and Pushing Creative Boundaries
Although painting remains at the core of Berkman’s work, she also draws extensively and experiments with mixed media and sculpture. This multidisciplinary approach allows her to challenge habitual ways of working and discover new forms of expression. Ideas developed through drawing or sculptural exploration often find their way back into her paintings, enriching their depth and complexity.
Berkman is driven by a desire to continually push the expressive limits of abstraction. She resists settling into a fixed style, choosing instead to evolve with each body of work. This commitment to experimentation keeps her practice responsive and alive, reflecting both internal emotional shifts and external experiences.
“Ziggy Zag” and the Language of Emotional Balance
One of Berkman’s notable works, “Ziggy Zag,” was created during the pandemic, a time marked by isolation, uncertainty, and emotional difficulty. While working on this piece, Berkman was navigating depression as well as physical health challenges. The painting emerged as a response to that period and reflects a search for balance amid instability.
“Ziggy Zag” explores the delicate coexistence of joy and struggle. The composition intentionally avoids perfect symmetry. Shapes and elements feel uneven, yet they come together to form a cohesive and energetic whole. This imbalance becomes a central strength of the work, suggesting that harmony can exist without order or perfection.
In the painting, Berkman experiments with earth tones alongside vibrant colors and darker hues. This range of color creates emotional depth and complexity, allowing multiple feelings to exist within a single composition. Rather than illustrating despair, the work holds tension and movement, offering a sense of resilience and quiet optimism.
Gesture as Personal Expression
Throughout Julia Berkman’s body of work, gesture functions as a record of emotion and presence. Her marks capture movement, intuition, and decision-making in real time. Each painting becomes a visual trace of experience rather than a predetermined outcome.
Her abstraction invites viewers to engage on a sensory and emotional level rather than searching for literal meaning. The openness of her work allows space for individual interpretation, making each encounter personal and unique.
An Ongoing Exploration of Abstraction
At the heart of Berkman’s practice is a dedication to growth and exploration. She continually challenges herself to expand what abstraction can communicate, testing the emotional power of color, form, and gesture. Her work demonstrates that abstraction is not detached from lived experience but deeply connected to it.
Through her vibrant and gestural compositions, Julia Berkman creates spaces where imbalance feels natural, emotion feels honest, and play becomes a serious act of expression. Her work stands as a reminder that abstraction can be both intimate and expansive, holding complexity with grace and energy.
