Ukraine, 1978
Julia Dalton is a Ukrainian artist based in Paris whose practice explores the intersection of abstract expressionism, memory, and the transformation of landscapes. Born in Donetsk, Eastern Ukraine, and having lived in Germany, Belgium, the United States, and France, she draws on experiences of migration, belonging, and cultural displacement to create works that navigate the relationship between personal memory and collective history.
Originally trained as a translator and interpreter, Dalton is particularly interested in the limits of language and in what remains beyond words. In her work, painting becomes a form of translation: a visual language through which color, rhythm, texture, and gesture communicate emotions, memories, and narratives that verbal language cannot fully contain.
Introduced to textile practices from an early age through sewing, embroidery, knitting, and crochet, she maintains a deep connection to materiality and the ways in which objects can carry memory. These influences emerge in her large-scale acrylic paintings, where layering, texture, and occasional textile elements create complex surfaces that evoke both physical and emotional landscapes.
Her work frequently reflects on the transformation of places through time, migration, and historical events. The ongoing series "Homeland Echoes", named after cities in Eastern Ukraine, draws from childhood memories and landscapes that have been altered, lost, or rendered inaccessible. Rather than depicting specific locations, these paintings seek to preserve their emotional resonance and explore the enduring connections between place, identity, and memory.
Alongside her artistic practice, Dalton's professional work with refugees and homeless populations in Paris informs her reflection on displacement, resilience, and reconstruction. Her paintings function as emotional cartographies where personal experience intersects with broader questions of belonging, loss, and renewal.
Dalton is a member of the Fondation Taylor and a sociétaire of the Salon d’Automne. Her work has been exhibited at the Salon d’Automne, Art Capital – Salon des Artistes Français at the Grand Palais in Paris, and the France–Japan International Contemporary Art Exhibition at the National Art Center in Tokyo.
Artist Interview: https://youtu.be/Y8_PMxkFkG8?si=sjf4Ax4QPDC59eja