Artist
Julianna Byrne
Julianna Byrne is a London-based artist who practices mainly with inks, pencil and water and creates ethereal paintings presenting a mythical landscape of ferns, flowers, woodland nymphs and hypnotic river bathers. Delicately coloured and detailed, they are spooky yet serene, calling to mind Klimt’s ‘Danae' and Waterhouse’s 'Hylas and the Nymphs’.
Julianna is also known for creating bespoke murals, inspired by Japanese art and Italian frescoes. You can commission Julianna to create a mural in your home, whether in a nursery, dining room, or in a commercial space. Julianna has created murals for clients such as Farrow & Ball, Trove by Studio Duggan and many private clients. Read this Financial Times article about the resurgence of murals in the home featuring Julianna's murals.
Discover more about Julianna's bespoke murals.
Julianna's Style
Her Seaweed, Sea Coral and Algae series are all original gouache and ink drawings which make reference to traditional botanical engravings or pressed flowers, yet are executed using her own unique and seemingly effortless style. Julianna draws a lot of her inspiration from the depiction of the female form in ancient mythology.
She was part of the ‘Girls Only’ collaborative exhibition in Mumbai in 2016, curated by Antonia Marsh, and had a solo exhibition at Alex Eagle Studio in 2017, and recently was awarded a residency in rural Ireland. Julianna partnered with Farrow & Ball for London Design Festival - creating a live mural in their Chelsea showroom. She will be exhibiting new work at Ennismore Sessions House as part of Partnership Editions' 2020 residency. Julianna also regularly runs life drawing workshops from her West London home - look out for tickets to these on our events page, or sign up to the newsletter to know when they go on sale.
If you'd like to discuss commissioning a bespoke artwork or a mural by Julianna, please get in touch.
"Drawing from a fascination with ethereal landscapes, dreamlike characters and mythology, my work aims to depict the magical nature of a dream or a distant childhood memory” - Julianna Byrne
Christmas Baubles and Seasonal Originals
“I have created a collection of 24 hand-painted baubles alongside a small collection of original artworks for Partnership Editions, all inspired by the nostalgic magic of Christmas at home.” - Julianna Byrne
Drop 5 - Winter 2020
"In this collection I wanted to capture the tranquil magic of winter. There is a certain dreamy serenity as the earth returns to stillness." - Julianna Byrne, Winterness
Lula Collection
In this series exclusively made for Lula JAPAN, Julianna Byrne, narrates her own mystical world using "kitsune-iro colour” - the colour of the fox. In Japanese Folklore, the fox represents an intelligent being that often has supernatural significance. In ancient Japanese culture, the fox and man lived alongside each other, and therefore the Kitsune is often portrayed as a loyal companion, as wise, and as a guardian.
"I have not used a particular narrative with these works but in all of them I have tried to capture the bitter sweet essence of Autumn, where we say goodbye to the brightness of summer and welcome to the warm glow of winter.
I used the deep orange of kitsune-iro in all of my paintings, this colour reminded me of Autumnal themes such as ripening fruit and low winter sunrises. To me these works are playful and warm, they remind of those autumnal days when you want to savour every moment before winter takes its hold on the earth."
Read the Fall/Winter 2020 issue of Lula Magazine where Julianna talks about her work, inspiration and the wonderful Japanese kitsune-iro shade.
Drop 4 - Autumn 2020
“This series celebrates the beginning of Autumn, it’s my favourite time of year and the time that I see the most beauty in the natural world” - Julianna Byrne, Autumn Botanicals
Partnership Editions x BIAS: The Artist's Slip Dress
“I wanted to create something that would look beautiful as an evening outfit. Bias’ colour ‘Midnight Blue’ immediately made me think of a night’s sky, and I thought an arrangement of moons, stars and suns would look playful but also very elegant.” - Julianna Byrne
Drop 3 - High Summer 2020
“I’ve tried to capture the essence of high summer, evoked by distant memories of seaside holidays and hours lost round a feast filled table with friends. I have been exploring the magic of natural lime-wash paint.
They are usually used for painting interiors and they absorb light in the most beautiful way creating a velvety soft palette. They remind me of the texture of faded Italian frescos.” - Julianna Byrne
Drop 2 - Spring / Summer 2020
"During isolation I felt compelled to capture certain snippets of time that one might fail to record in ordinary life, like whiling away the hours on a Sunday afternoon or the small pleasure of pouring yourself a drink at your own kitchen table on a quiet summer evening. I think we’ve all experienced the slowing down of routine and time and I wanted to capture the beauty of it." - Julianna Byrne
