Julia Phillips (born 1985) is a German-American contemporary artist known for her sculptures, drawings, prints, videos, and performances. Her multidisciplinary practice explores themes of the body, power dynamics, psychological experiences, motherhood, race, and social relations through hybrid objects that resemble tools, prosthetics, and functional devices.
Phillips is represented by Matthew Marks Gallery and serves as associate professor in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Chicago. Her work has been exhibited at major institutions including the 59th Venice Biennale, the Whitney Biennial, the Berlin Biennale, and the New Museum Triennial.
Early life and education Phillips was born in 1985 in Hamburg, Germany, and holds dual German and American citizenship. She received her Diploma from the Academy of Fine Arts Hamburg (HFBK) in 2012. In 2015, she earned an MFA from Columbia University School of the Arts in New York. She participated in the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program (Studio) from 2015 to 2016.
She lives and works between Chicago and Berlin.
Work Phillips primarily works in ceramics and metal, creating sculptural objects that function as metaphorical tools for imagined social or psychological scenarios. Her pieces often incorporate body casts, glazed surfaces (including metallic finishes), and mechanical elements. Recurring themes include power relations, protection, violence, attachment, motherhood, and the uncanny.
Exhibitions
Selected solo exhibitions
2026: Inside, Before They Speak, Barbican Centre (The Curve), London 2022: Me, Ourself & You, Matthew Marks Gallery, New York 2022: Observer, Observed, High Line Art, New York 2021: Between Love and Loss, Matthew Marks Gallery, Los Angeles 2020: New Album, Matthew Marks Gallery, New York 2019: Fake Truth, Kunstverein Braunschweig, Germany 2018: Failure Detection, MoMA PS1, New York
Selected group exhibitions
2024: Whitney Biennial 2024, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York 2022: The Milk of Dreams, 59th Venice Biennale 2021: Grief and Grievance: Art and Mourning in America, New Museum, New York 2018: 10th Berlin Biennale and New Museum Triennial: Songs for Sabotage
Recognition Phillips has received the K21 Global Art Award (2026), the Creative Capital Award (2025), the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation Artadia Award (2023), and the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Grant, among others. She has participated in residencies at the Studio Museum in Harlem, Skowhegan, and EMPAC. She joined the University of Chicago faculty in 2018 and was promoted to associate professor in 2026.
References
External links
Official representation at Matthew Marks Gallery University of Chicago faculty page Artist's website