Julia Morrisroe’s colorful, abstract paintings will adorn the walls of Valdosta State University’s Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery for the next three weeks.
 
An opening reception for her solo exhibition, “Y/our Eyes,” will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 18. She will present a gallery talk at 5 p.m. Both of these special events are open to all faculty, staff, students, alumni, retirees, and friends of the university.  
 
“My paintings don’t hold secrets or grand revelations; they are not puzzles to be solved,” Morrisroe shared. “My paintings are open conversations with myself about our oceans of imagery and with the history of painting. They are places where I can launch formal elements and materials so a viewer can slip from an edge, stumble across a smear of paint, or fall into a tangle of lines and feel the tension or release. My work seeks to hold the visual noise still and locate an instant in which all that activity coalesces and locates an opening within the tradition of painting.”
 
Based in Gainesville, Florida, Morrisroe is an associate professor of painting and drawing at the University of Florida. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Northern Illinois University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Washington.
 
Morrisroe has exhibited her creative works throughout the United States and abroad. Her work was included in the national traveling exhibition “Comic Release: Negotiating Identity for the New Generation,” which originated at Carnegie Mellon University. Her site-specific projects have been commissioned at Purdue University, Bakehouse Gallery, Carnegie Mellon University, SPACES, and South Bend Museum of Art.

Morrisroe serves as a member of the College Art Association’s Conference Committee and has received grants from the State of Florida, Michigan, and City of Chicago. She was commissioned to create a public art project for the Jacksonville Airport.