Julia McKinlay is an artist, curator and researcher based in Leeds, UK. Her work incorporates material processes that mimic nature, using chemical reactions, heat, and pressure to make installations that represent semi-fictional environments and question the boundaries between nature and the human-made. Previous works have represented the surface of a snail’s shell, an obscure garden and the edge of the world.
She curates Threshold, an open-air space for sculpture in Leeds and is a 0.6 Lecturer in Fine Art at University of Leeds. McKinlay studied BA Fine Art: Sculpture and Environmental Art at the Glasgow School of Art (2009), and MFA Fine Art at The Slade School of Fine Art (2014). She completed her practice-based PhD at Leeds Beckett University in collaboration with Yorkshire Sculpture International in 2022, titled: ‘Acid-Soaked Molluscs: a xenophoric approach to practising sculpture and print’.
Recent exhibitions include A Pair of Lungs with Hiroko Nakajima at Nakanojo Biennale 2023, Gunma, Japan (2023); Leeds Artists Show 2023, Leeds Art Gallery (2023); Figureheads: Members Show 2022, Bloc Projects, Sheffield (2022); Undergrowth, BLANK_ (2021); Scoria, with Jacob Farrell at Threshold (2021); Material Matters, Sunny Bank Mills Gallery (2021); Kuroko, Index Festival, Leeds (2019). Her artist book Feeling the Underside (2019) was published by Yorkshire Sculpture International and Leeds Beckett University. She has participated in residencies at MI-LAB, Japan; METAL, Southend-on-Sea; Joya: arte + ecologia, Spain; Listhus, Iceland; Skaftfell, Iceland.
Education
2018-2021 PhD by practice with Yorkshire Sculpture International at Leeds Beckett University
2012-2014 MFA Fine Art (Sculpture) at The Slade School of Fine Art
2006-2009 BA Fine Art: Sculpture and Environmental Art at The Glasgow School of Art
2005-2006 Foundation Studies in Art and Design at Leeds College of Art
Solo and Duo Exhibitions
2023 A Pair of Lungs, with Hiroko Nakajima, Cosmographia Nakanojo Biennale 2023, Gunma, Japan
2022 Acid-Soaked Molluscs, Research Field Station, Broadcasting Tower A, Leeds Beckett University
Xenophora II, Sandford Vitrine, London
2021 Scoria, with Jacob Farrell, Threshold, Leeds
Undergrowth, BLANK_, Leeds City College, Leeds
2017 Forms and Reticulations, Newcastle University, Newcastle
2016 Blokc, with Lauren Wilson, Project Space Wapping, London
Swab Art Fair, Barcelona. Exhibition with Anthony Banks, curated by Square Art Projects
2011 Hostile Places, Here Gallery, Bristol
Strange New Feelings, with Lily Johnson,Gallery 491, Leytonstone
Group Exhibitions
2024 Making Poetry with Solid Objects: Drawing and Sculpture, Komagome Soko, Tokyo (forthcoming June 2024) curated by Hiroko Nakajima, Kazuki Nishinaga and Ayuko Sugiura
2023 Leeds Artists Show 2023, Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds
2022 Figureheads: Members Show 2023, Bloc Projects, Sheffield curated by Gloam Gallery
2021 Material Matters, curated by Alice Chandler, Sunny Bank Mills, Leeds
2020 Leeds Summer Group Show (Online), curated by court spencer
2019 Kuroko, Gallery House, Index Festival, Leeds
Kuroko Part I, Index Festival Hub at Yorkshire House, Leeds
Situating Practices, Temporary Contemporary, Huddersfield
2018 MI:LAB Basic Training Programme, CfSHE Gallery, Tokyo
2017 The Factory, Djúpavík, Iceland
2016 Life of Clay: Experimental practice at Grymsdyke Farm, with Printers' Symphony, RIBA, London
Artists' Village, Village Green Festival, METAL, Southend-on-Sea
Cacophonia, 7 Lynbrook Grove, London
2015 Oh For You! I Would Do Anything, Tritongatan5, Gothenburg
Polyphonie X, 331 Green Lanes, London
Broomhill National Sculpture Prize 2015, Broomhill Sculpture Park, Barnstaple
Out in the Open, Listhus Gallery, Olafsfjordur, Iceland
Re-Launch, UCL Art Museum, London
2014 Hoist, 46 Bavaria Road, London
Gazpacho, Slade School of Fine Art, London
Slade School of Fine Art Degree Show 2014, Slade School of Fine Art, London
Time-based Media, UCL Art Museum, London
2013 Slade Print Fair, Slade School of Fine Art, London
Interim Show, Slade School of Fine Art, London
habits, cleavages and fractures, The Rock Room, UCL Geology Collections, London
Open 2013, Spike Island, Bristol
Duet, UCL Art Musuem, London
My Beautiful Launderette, 168 Cobourg Road, London
2010 RSA New Contemporaries 2010, The Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
Emergence, Eastwood Theatre Gallery, Glasgow
2009 Ex, Leeds College of Art and Design
Drawn Together, Pentagon Gallery, Glasgow
Descent into the Maelström, Southside Studios, Glasgow
The Glasgow School of Art Degree Show 2009, Mackintosh Museum, The Glasgow School of Art
Residencies
2020 East Street Arts Virtual Residency
2020 Yorkshire Sculpture International Sculpture Network
2018 Mokuhanga Innovation Laboratory (MI:LAB) Basic Training Programme, Lake Kawaguchi, Japan
Time and Space Residency at METAL, with Printers' Symphony, Southend-On-Sea
2017 Joya: arte + ecología, Almeria, Spain
2016 Village Green Festival Artist in Residence, METAL, Southend-on-Sea
Degree Show Artists in Residence, with Printers' Symphony, The University of Gloucester, Hardwick Gallery, Cheltenham.
2015 Listhus, Iceland
Research Residency, Skaftfell, Iceland
2014 Slade Summer School Artist in Residence
2008 University of Hildesheim, Germany
Commissions
2021 Arts Fund #3 Commission, Leeds City College
2021 YSI Engagement Commission with Rycroft Community Centre, Wakefield
2019 YSI Artist Book Commission, Yorkshire Sculpture International, Leeds/Wakefield
2017 NICAP commission to collaborate with poet Joanne Clement on a new permanent artwork for the Newcastle University Law Library
2007 Mural commission at Hotel Bloom, Brussels
Collections
UCL Art Museum
Newcastle University Law Library
Yorkshire Sculpture International
Leeds Beckett University
The Laurence Sterne Trust at Shandy Hall
Teaching
I am currently a Lecturer in Fine Art in the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies at University of Leeds. I have previously taught at Leeds Arts University, Leeds Print Workshop and Newcastle University.
Talks
2022 Artist talk, Bath Spa University
2021 Breaking the Mould Study Day, hosted by Arts Council Collection and Djanogly Gallery, Lakeside Arts, University of Nottingham
Artist Journeys Conference, hosted by YVAN and Sheffield Hallam University
2020 The Foundation of Art and Science, a British Art Network seminar at Ipswich Museum
2019 Books and Sculpture: Boundary Objects, panel discussion with Ian Jackson and Jenny West at the Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
Situating Practices, Temporary Contemporary, Huddersfield
2018 Re:Forming Sculpture Summer Symposium, The Hepworth Wakefield and University of Leeds
2016 Symposium: The relevance of print in contemporary art education, hosted by Newcastle University and part of the International Print Biennale, Newcastle upon Tyne
2014 Artist Talk, Slade Summer School, UCL, London
2013 Artist Talk and workshop, UCL Art Society, London
Publications
Julia McKinlay, ed., Jacob Farrell, Jacob Farrell: A Snake Shaped Key, (self-published, 2021). Artist book with marginalia by Julia McKinlay.
Julia McKinlay, Victoria Lucas: The Strata of Things, (self-published, 2021). Exhibition catalogue.
Julia McKinlay, ed., Alice Chandler, Alice Chandler: Privet, (self-published, 2021). Exhibition catalogue.
Alice Chandler, ed., Julia McKinlay (contributor), Material Matters (Sunny Bank Mills, 2021). Exhibition catalogue.
Julia McKinlay, Feeling the Underside, (Leeds: Yorkshire Sculpture International and Leeds Beckett University, 2019). Launched at the Henry Moore Institute 19 September 2019.
Lauren Wilson, ed., Hiroko Nakajima, Julia McKinlay, Eiko Soga, Jon Kipps, Kuroko, (self-published, 2019). Exhibition catalogue.
Awards
Arts Council England National Lottery Grant, 2021
Leeds Inspired Small Grant, 2020
CuratorSpace Artist Bursary #7, 2020
Index Festival Core Programme Grant, 2019
Leeds Inspired Small Grant, 2019
Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation Grant, 2019
Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation Grant, 2018
Broomhill National Sculpture Prize Finalist, 2015
The Peter and Betty McLean Prize, 2014
The Boise Travel Scholarship, 2014
New Collaborations Bursary Award, A-N The Artist’s Information Company, 2014
UCL Art Museum Prize for ‘A Printers Symphony’, 2013
Curating
In 2021 I curated Threshold in Leeds. Threshold is an outdoor space for exhibitions of sculpture in the front garden of a back-to-back terraced house in Leeds.
2022 Consultant for Routes North, Messums Harrogate, Harrogate
Consultant for Aggregate 2022, at Freelands Foundation, London
2021 Consultant with Freelands Artist Programme programming online talks and symposium with G39, Cardiff
Emii Alrai: Deposition Layer, Threshold, Leeds
Alice Chandler: Privet, Threshold, Leeds
Victoria Lucas: The Strata of Things, Threshold, Leeds
2019 Kuroko, Gallery House, The Headrow, Leeds. Part of Index Festival. Exhibiting artists: Jon Kipps, Julia McKinlay, Hiroko Nakajima, Eiko Soga, Lauren Wilson.
Kuroko Part I, Index Festival Hub, Yorkshire House, Leeds
2016 The Parade, Fine Art Department, Newcastle University
2015 Polyphonie X, 331 Green Lanes, London. Curated with the other residents of 331 Green Lanes: Jackie Bogdany, Andy Gomez, Cassandre Greenberg, Miles Umney, and Lee Sullivan.
2013 My Beautiful Launderette, 168 Cobourg Road, London. A group exhibition co-organised with Stuart Doncaster including work by Andy Gomez, Jon Kipps, Frank Wasser and Lauren Wilson