Julie Sulzen (b. 1969) is an artist whose work focuses primarily on painting the landscapes of the American Midwest. She also explores drawing, printmaking, watercolor, and photography in both figurative and landscape themes.
Born and raised in Chicago, Julie Sulzen began her formal art education at Lane Technical High School (1987), followed by degrees in Fine Art and Illustration from the American Academy of Art in Chicago (1991). She continued with studies under portrait and still-life painter Grace Cole. While working as an artist and raising her two children, Sulzen earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Concordia University Chicago in 2017, achieving summa cum laude distinction. At CUC she focused specifically on Printmaking and Photography as she pursued minors in both Women/Gender Studies and Sociology.
Sulzen’s work has been displayed in numerous exhibitions including the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Olympia Centre Atrium Exhibition-Chicago) and the Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival (Chicago). Her solo shows include A Visual Dialogue at the Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Art (Chicago), Beyond Green Fences at Concordia University Chicago, and Seasoned at Buona Terra Ristorante (Chicago). Her work can also be found in many private and corporate collections including Deloitte, Harris Bank, and Concordia University Chicago. Sulzen was named a Curator’s Choice for the Around the Coyote Fall Arts Festival in 2000 and was a recipient of a 2006 Community Arts Assistance Program (CAAP) grant issued by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. For over twenty years she has taught painting workshops and classes at local arts organizations in and around the Chicago area.
Julie Sulzen lectures frequently on the life and work of artmaking, specifically as it relates to gender and sociology. Her presentations have been featured at the Racine Art Museum (Wisconsin), the Self Employment in the Arts Conference (Lisle, Illinois), Concordia and Dominican Universities (River Forest, Illinois), The Chicago Public Library (Logan Square Branch), and the Chicago Architecture Center (Foundation) in Chicago.
Since 2002, Julie Sulzen has been co-curator of over 30 exhibitions in her namesake studio/gallery and home in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago. She lives with husband, photographer and writer Dan Zamudio, and their two children.
