Joshua Liner Gallery is pleased to present Palinopsia, an exhibition of large-scale canvas works and two paper works from Berlin-based artist, Julie Oppermann. This will be the artist’s first New York solo exhibition.

Julie Oppermann holds a BFA (Cooper Union, 2004) and an MFA in painting (Hunter College, 2012), as well as a BA in biology (Hunter College, 2007) and MA in neuroscience (UC Berkeley, 2009). An artist and scholar of science, much of Oppermann’s work deals with how the brain perceives information-the creation of an art object that encourages the viewer to consider how they process what they see. When viewing the work, some may describe the imagery as discordant: this is the artist’s intent.

Oppermann’s work uses perception as a medium. The artist explains: “[these paintings] are supposed to be challenging. Because they defy your perceptual abilities, they frustrate your eyes, and in the process, you gain insight into how your eyes and brain are working-you see yourself seeing, so to speak.” These paintings are created with the express purpose of having the viewer actively engage with the artwork.

The title of the exhibition, Palinopsia is a visual phenomenon, which occurs when the image of an object seems to linger in the eyes even after the original object is absent-much like when looking directly into a light source, then looking away. However, Palinopsia is a much stronger visual occurrence, the afterimage more intense and lasting much longer. The artist’s background in neuroscience and study of color theory both support and stimulate the nature of the work she creates.

In 2008, while pursuing a master’s degree in neuroscience at UC Berkley, Oppermann came across the moiré effect after superimposing line patterns over one another. Happening upon it organically, Oppermann began reading and studying more on the subject. The artist says, “In the last few years I’ve become increasingly interested in ideas related to interference, optical flicker, and digital glitches, and while the moiré effect is still prominent in my work, it is moving to the back burner.”

Though dealing in more contemporary materials and methods, these large-scale canvases tend to be quite painterly in their process. Coats of lines are all improvised. “Each layer of lines is a response to the last,” shares Oppermann. The scale of the work, however, is purposeful in the intent to overwhelm the viewer, usurping the peripheral vision. “My hope is that, standing in front of the work, you will have a physical, visceral response to the work. You will interact with it. You will feel it’s presence from a distance, and will interact with it as you move through the room.”

Her work, ever evolving around serious concepts rooted in her studies and her scientific mind, Julie Oppermann strives to not merely create pretty things but to engage her audience in a deeper contract. Almost like performance art, internalized.

Born in 1982 in San Francisco, CA, living most of her life in New York, Oppermann currently lives and works in Berlin, Germany. In 2012 she completed a residency at FAAP in São Paulo, an academic exchange with Professor Robert Lucander at the Berlin University of the Arts, and completed her M.F.A. at Hunter College. Solo exhibitions include: Interfaceat Galeria Arnes y Roepke, Madrid, Spain (2013); Project Roomat Mark Moore Gallery, Culver City, CA (2013); Julie Oppermann at Galerie Stefan Roepke, Cologne, Germany (2012). Selected group exhibitions: Suckstractat Kunstquartier Bethanien Projektraum, Berlin, Germany (2013); Thrills and Chills by Daily Lazy Projects at Christina Androulidaki Gallery, Athens, Greece (2013); Gilles Balmet Collection, Medusa Caravage Salon at Nouvelle Vagues galerie Dominique Flat, Paris, France (2013); Logical Expressions and Variations at Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York, NY (2013).