Nomad Sanctuary
Julio Austria

In Nomad Sanctuary, Julio Austria showcases his unique viewpoint on migration, particularly topics such as diaspora and displacement in the context of urban living, using the vehicles of conceptual art and traditional paintings. This exhibition continues the conversation that Austria began in September 2017 with his show titled Alien of Extra Ordinary Ability, which featured his explorations into conceptual art by highlighting background materials to become foreground pieces. These background pieces included blocks of raw canvas tacked together with documentation details. He also made use of discarded frames from his previous day jobs and worn flip-flop sandals as primary exhibition items. Aside from these unusual articles, Nomad Sanctuary also includes the usual paintings from Austria, to present the range of the artist’s work. Austria is interested beyond the surface of things. He knows that the canvases have already and will continue to accumulate dust, grime and creases from handling in their many transatlantic flights. He welcomes this natural course, because the canvases and other exhibition items in Nomad Sanctuary share the artist’s journey, his process and even personal secrets.

About Julio Austria
Julio Jose Austria is a visual artist born and raised in Manila, Philippines. He immigrated to the United States as an Alien of Extra Ordinary Ability in 2011 to pursue further knowledge and practice of art. His work mainly focuses on urbanization and migration, which provides visual portrayal of his profound life experiences and narratives based on his observations and absorption of the environment he is in.

Austria finished his bachelor’s degree in painting at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines. He is a recipient of various international fellowships: The 2009 Asian Artist Full Fellowship Award at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont; a Joan Mitchell Foundation grantee for the Ox-Bow School for the Arts in Saugatuck, Michigan in 2010; and the Ruth Katzman scholarship awardee by the Vytlacil Campus of the Arts Student League of New York. He was also chosen as of the mentees in the Immigrant Artist Program by the New York Foundation of Arts in 2014. Austria is a studio artist in the Chashama Space to Create Studio Program. His works have been exhibited in Manila, New York, Bangkok, Singapore, Berlin, London and Vienna. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

For further information on the artist and his works, or to schedule a visit outside of posted gallery hours, please contact Julio at jojo_austria@yahoo.com. He may also be followed on Instagram.