JULIA ELSAS

JULIA ELSAS

Julia Elsas was born in Birmingham, Alabama and lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Julia’s art practice encompasses ceramics, printmaking, drawing, sculpture, installation and performance.

Julia’s most recent three-dimensional work grew out of her ongoing exploration of the sonic potential of clay. She considers her sculptures to be fully realized only when they are being played. In her initial research into creating sonic sculptures, she looked to the shape and sonority of traditional udu drums made by the Igbo women of Nigeria and to the ancient indigenous ceramic water whistles, flutes and horns from Mexico and South America.

In pursuit of activating her sculptures with sound, Julia started SONIC MUD, a band of professional musicians that showcases her ceramic instruments. SONIC MUD musicians play a range of ceramic flutes, drums, natural trumpets, shakers, clayrimbas, rain machines, water whistles and more, all hand-built by Julia. The performances are unique and one-of-a-kind. The music is improvisational while they bring to life the richly resonant and earthy sounds of clay. In early 2023 SONIC MUD recorded their first album, Above Ground, which was released on September 1st, 2023.

Past SONIC MUD performances have taken place at The Bo Bartlett Center, Pasaquan, The Jewish Museum of Maryland, Cooler Gallery, Printed Matter, The Drawing Center, The New School, NARS Foundation, Ortega y Gasset, Relationships, The Shirley Project Space, BKLYN CLAY, and Pratt. SONIC MUD musicians include: Julia Elsas, Kenny Wollesen, Kirk Knuffke, Mike Irwin, Steven Bernstein, Madeleine Ventrice, Doug Wieselman, Katie Downs, Eléonore Weill, Sae Hashimoto, Aubrey Smith, Jessica Lurie, Cyro Baptista, Dalius Naujo, Rich Stein and Pam Fleming.

Julia has been an artist-in-residence at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica di Venezia, Venice, Italy; Gowanus Studio Space, Brooklyn, NY; Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA; and Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA. She was in the 2018-2019 inaugural cohort of the New Jewish Culture Fellowship, a 2019 - 2020 Keyholder Resident at the Lower East Side Print Shop and a 2022 Artist in Residence at Obracadobra in Oaxaca City, Mexico.

Julia’s line of functional ceramic sculptures for the home was established in 2016. Each ceramic piece is one-of-a-kind and hand-built in Julia’s Brooklyn, NY studio. Stockists include: Whitney Museum Shop, The Jewish Museum Shop, Museum of Arts and Design, Afternoon Light, 20x200, Lolo, The Sidewalk Flowers, Nikki Chasin, A.Mano Brooklyn, Salon, Poster House, Modern Tribe, Lisa Says Gah, The Real Real, Wine and Eggs and West Elm.

Julia was a 2023 Etsy Design Award Finalist, and her work has been featured and reviewed in Hyperallergic, Salvation South, Foxy Digitalis, Glamour, Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Ceramics Monthly, Domino, Into the Gloss, New York Magazine, and more. See selected press here.

Past exhibitions and performances include: