Portugal
Julie van Riel
Julie van Riel (1999) is a sculptor who explores the passage of time, with a desire to hold it still. Working with glass, ceramics, stone, metals and natural materials such as seeds, she looks at how things change, grow and weather over time. Through material research and curiosity about the natural world, she explores the traces time leaves behind and the space between stillness and change.
A seed is always waiting to become something else. It holds within itself the possibility of life, yet it asks for time, stillness and the right conditions to grow.
Julie van Riel (1999) is drawn to these quiet moments of change. Working with glass, ceramics, stone, metals, water and seeds, she explores the passage of time. Her work moves between art and science, combining material research with curiosity and intuition. By exploring the chemical reactions between materials and their surroundings, she looks at how water and time can change a surface, create new colours or slowly weather the material.
Through her sculptures, Julie searches for a moment of stillness. A space to pause, to observe, and to be present with the world around us. She sees beauty in things that are unfinished, in the space between what something was and what it might become. Her works are invitations to slow down and look closer, to notice the small changes that often go unseen.
Julie lives and works in Lisbon, Portugal, where she is pursuing a Master’s in Glass, Ceramics, Art & Science at VICARTE, NOVA Science University Lisbon. She studied Sculpture for her bachelor’s degree at KASK in Ghent, Belgium. Afterwards, she did a residency at Palmyra Sculpture Centre in Mallorca, Spain.
