I sat down with Julia Lipovsky, the 2023 Rosenthal Education Center (REC) Artist in Residence, and asked a few questions about her creative practice and new role here at the museum. Here’s what Julia had to say.

ALEX: Hi Julia! Tell us a bit about yourself.

JULIA: Hello! I am a local artist and live in Camp Washington with my fiancé Jon and our perfect cat Oli. Jon and I share a studio together in Northside, where we work and gather friends and eat a lot of salsa samplers from The Comet. I love to draw, especially when drawing connects me with other artists and small businesses. When I’m not at work or in the studio, I love to be outside, either gardening or on a long walk at Spring Grove Cemetery.

A: Why is art important to you?

J: Art is an essential means of digesting the world. Art and artists capture parts of culture that aren’t easily described. Personally, I use art to record my experiences, daydreams, and emotions. It’s a great tool for exploring your inner landscape and making it physical, a process I find to be quite therapeutic. It’s a gift to document your life in art and share it with others! It keeps me soft.

A: What inspired you to apply for the residency and what do you hope to share with museum visitors through your work?

J: Saul Steinberg’s Mural of Cincinnati (on view in Gallery 151) inspired my application. I love how he uses observation and imagination to capture the city. It feels like a storybook! I hope to observe and imagine a new mural of Cincinnati with visitors this summer.

A: If you were a type of art supplies, what would you be?

J: This question! I work for a rad thrift store for art supplies called Indigo Hippo, where I encounter so many unique creative materials—each one has a distinct personality! But if I’m being honest, I think I would be googly eyes. They’re silly, but have vision.

Visit Julia’s interactive art installation inspired by Saul Steinberg’s Mural of Cincinnati and Julia’s favorite local haunts in the REC, now through October 29, 2023.