BIO

Julia Aurora Guzmán is a Dominican artist working between Barcelona and Amsterdam. Her interdisciplinary practice orbits around water, holders and centering forces. Materialized through sculptures, textile-works, photography, sound and performance, her works highlight the careful labor in ubiquitous structures, and become sensorial metaphors for emotional, social, and physical support systems. Representing our transient cycles, Guzmán’s work honors births and deaths, and tends to the present.

Julia Aurora holds a Masters in Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities from the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalunya, a BFA in Sculpture from the San Francisco Art Institute, USA and an Associates degree in Fine Arts from the School of Design Altos de Chavón, DR.

She has done multiple residencies including JOYA ~ Art + Ecology AiR, SP, the European Ceramic Workcentre, NL, and Despina, BR, and has been a recipient of the Wittmore Award, of multiple work grants including the Young Talent Award from Mondriaan Funds, NL, Prins Bernhard Cultuur Fonds, NL, Stichting Stokroos, NL, and study scholarships from the San Francisco Art Institute and the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalunya.

Her work has been exhibited internationally, including solo shows in Santo Domingo, DR, Amsterdam, NL, Madrid, SP, and Barcelona and has also participated in multiple group exhibitions including at the Musée d’art de la Province de Hainaut, Charleroi, Belgium, Musée d’art moderne et contemporain, Saint-Étienne Métropole, France, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Despina, Rio de Janeiro Brasil, United Kingdom, and United States, the Netherlands and Spain.

Guzmán is a current artist resident at La Escocesa (Barcelona, SP) until December 2024.

CV

Born in 1993, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Lives and works between Barcelona, SP & Amsterdam, NL

Education

2023 Masters in Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities, IAAC, Barcelona, SP
2016 B.F.A in Sculpture, San Francisco Art Institute, SF, CA
2013 A.A.S in Fine Arts, Cum Laude, Altos de Chavón School of Design, La Romana, Dominican Republic
2011 Architectural Drawing Certificate, Casa de Chavón, Santo Domingo, DR

Solo Exhibitions

2023 still, Chiquita Room, Barcelona, SP.
2021 Aguaviva, Galeria Daniel Cuevas, Madrid, SP.
2019 How to Process, Pinta Platform Miami, Mamey Galería Eddy Guzmán, Miami, FL.
How to Hold, Galerie Fontana, Amsterdam, NL
2018 How to Stand, Mamey Galería Eddy Guzmán, Santo Domingo, DR
Acrylic God Particles, Hoi Polloi Brewing Taproom and Beat Lounge, Berkeley, CA
2016 Skeletons and Experiments, SFAI Quad, SF, CA
2015 God Particles, Still Lights Gallery, SF, CA
2014 Filogenia, Quinta Dominica, Santo Domingo, DR

Selected Group Exhibitions

2023 MERCI FACTEUR ! MAIL ART #6, BPS22 - Musée d’Art de la Province de Hainaut, Charleroi, Belgium
Prospects 2023, Art Rotterdam, Rotterdam, NL
2022 Janelas, curated by Tiago de Abreu Pinto & Marc Buchy, Biblioteque Musée D’Art Moderne et Contemporaine, Saint Etienne, FR
Fotografía Dominicana, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, Santo Domingo, DR
Clay Bodies and Spaces, CasCaDas ArtSpce, Barcelona, SP
Poética de la Emoción, Centro de la Imágen, Santo Domingo, DR
Transitions, CasCaDas ArtSpce, Barcelona, SP
2021 Arcana Mayor - Mayte Nicole Esteban, Terranova, Barcelona, SP
2020 Reflection in Time, Bradwolff Projects, Amsterdam, NL
Herramientas, Sindicato, Santo Domingo, DR
Libros en el Arte, Galeria Daniel Cuevas, Madrid, SP
The Proof if in the Pudding, Galerie Fontana, Amsterdam, NL
2019 Art Rotterdam, Duo exhibit / Galerie Fontana, Rotterdam, NL
KunstRai, Galerie Fontana, Amsterdam, NL
2018 A Place That Fosters Us, 97 Sheperdess Walk, London, UK
Howling Pancakes, Showroom MAMA, Rotterdam, NL
Crónicas de Quisqueya: Estética Atemporal de una Isla, Mamey Galería Eddy Guzmán, Santo Domingo, DR
2017    Art Book Show, Bass and Reiner Gallery, San Francisco, CA
              Calculate Your Volume, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2016    Portrayal: San Francisco Art Institute BFA Exhibition 2016, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
              10 Second Works, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
              Material Bodies, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
                Encrypted Objects, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
                Anniversary Exhibition, Casa Quien Gallery, Santo Domingo, DR
2015    Mixed Media, Good Mother Gallery, Oakland, CA
               More Than One Way, Southern Exposure Gallery, San Francisco, CA
               Continuously Present, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
                Sculpture Life, Ashby Residence, Berkeley, CA
                Cosecha, la Alpargateria, Santo Domingo, DR
                Art and Poetry, Adobe Books, San Francisco, CA

Performances

2020 Opening Ceremony - A Celebration of Art - Reflection in Time, Bradwolff Projects, Amsterdam, NL
2019 Orbiting through the Colonnade, performance with Javier Murugarren, Galerie Fontana, Amsterdam, NL

Awards / Grants / Distinctions

2023 Wittmore Award, Barcleona, SP
2022 Co-curator of CasCaDas ArtSpace, Barcelona, SP (ongoing)
Scholarship, Institute of Advanced Architecture Catalunya, SP
2021 Stipendium for Emerging Artists, Mondriaan Funds, NL
2020 Grant for EKWC European Ceramic WorkCentre, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, NL
Grant for EKWC European Ceramic WorkCentre, Stichting Stokroos, NL
Residency scholarship from EKWC European Ceramic WorkCentre, NL
Finalist, Tilting Axis Fellowship | The Netherlands 2020, Het Nieuwe Instituut, NL
2017 Nominee, Arte e Ativismo na América Latina , Despina, Rio de Janeiro, BR
2016     Nomination, The International Sculpture Center (ISC), Outstanding Student Achievement Award
Elected Student Representative of Sculpture Department, SFAI, San Francisco, USA
2014     Portfolio Achievement Scholarship, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA

Residencies

2022 JOYA Art & Ecology AiR, Almería, Spain
2021 La Escocesa 2021-2022, Barcelona, Spain (ongoing)
2020 EKWC European Ceramic WorkCentre, Netherlands
2015 Largo das Artes (Currently Despina), Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

Publication & Press

2021 Victor Zarza, ABC Cultural - España, El Agua, Paradigma y Metáfora, March 27
2020 Javier Diaz-Guardiola, ABC Cultural - Madrid, Julia A. Guzmán: Permanecer en calma en el ojo del huracán, November 17
The Online Arch - Amsterdam, One Work, One Week, Julia Aurora Guzmán, April 20
Gerardo Zavarce, OCA News, Movilidad Creativa: Hulda y Julia Aurora Guzmán, March 1
2019 Tiago de Abreu Pinto (Curator), Independent Press release - How to Hold, April 6
Aesthetica Magazine, Standard Plus Listing - Artists’ Directory, Issue 87 February/March Edition
2018 Archivos de Arquitectura Antillana, Eight-page artist feature, Issue 067 Summer 2018
Inside Artists Magazine, Six-page artist feature - Artists' Directory, Issue 13 Summer 2018
   Aesthetica Magazine, Standard Plus Listing - Artists’ Directory, Issue 82 - April/May Edition
Alejandra Villasmil, Artishock, Julia Auora Guzmán: How to Stand, March 31, 2018
   Aesthetica Magazine, Standard Plus Listing - Artists’ Directory, Issue 81 - February/March Edition
Daily Lazy, E-Journal and Blog, Exhibitions Directory, February 28, 2018
2017     Marianne de Tolentino, HOY, Frescor y Sutileza de una Obra Joven, December 9, 2017
               Rab Messina, CAMEL, La Escultura Arquitectónica de Julia Aurora Guzmán, December 5, 2017
2014     MDMA Magazine, Filogenia - Julia Aurora Guzmán, July Edition, 2014