Artist Statement (Excerpt)

For the past 20 years, I have visited Venice, Italy, nearly every summer. Famous for its inspiration, this city and its wayward canals, decaying palazzos and genial residents has, in no small way, had a remarkable influence on my work and my life. Every year, I return to the city eager to absorb its familiar landscapes, and upon arriving back home in Texas, I look forward to documenting its lasting impressions.

Venice has become a known quantity in many ways to me. Its small relative size has provided a perfect backdrop, and each year as I traverse its small alleyways, streets and bridges, the landscape has become more ingrained in my experience. Much like the artist Turner and his legions of followers, I have forged my own special relationship with this place, and it is very much an evolving one.

Upon my return this year, I set to create a series of works that are vastly different from my previous efforts. In this exhibition, the canvases take on a layer upon layer of paint, creating latent abstract impressions of landscape and seascape. In addition, my glass works complement these works on canvas; they are complex three-dimensional renderings with layers of color.

Julie's work is included in the following collections: Bank of America, Mrs. Cherie Blair, Banque Paribas, Belo Corporation, Credit Suisse, Compaq Computers, Continental Airlines, Exxon Corporation, Koll Corporation, Neiman Marcus, Microsoft, Nordstrom, Skandia Insurance, Standard Federal Bank, Texas Instruments, Touche Ross, Price Waterhouse, Washington Athletic League and The White House, Washington, D.C.

Julie Lazarus is currently working on a public artwork for the Westside Water Treatment Plant located at 12200 Old Weatherford Road, right outside the bounds of Fort Worth,Texas.
The artist's final design for the artwork, approved by the Fort Worth Art Commission on October 11, 2010, uses translucent, rich hues of blue and subtle abstracted, geometric imagery to capture the essence of water circulation and the plant's state-of-the-art filtration and purification processes.
The artwork consists of two components, the first, to be installed inside the building lobby and also visible from outside the building, will be a painting in oil on canvas, approximately eight feet, six inches by nine feet four inches. The second component, in the form of a glass mosaic mural, approximately five feet high x 35 feet wide, will adorn the curved concrete wall that wraps the building entry ramp. It is anticipated that many visitors will tour the Westside Water Treatment Plant to see its cutting edge technology at work; therefore the artwork will have high visibility.