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“Fossil Fuel was inspired by the planned underwater parking garage at the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City.  I parked there when nearby cities were truly underwater during summer floods.  The title is both a reference to our environmental crisis and an acknowledgement of the lovely fossil on the limestone that appears in the parking lot on the print.”

– Julie Green –
 

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Julie Green is an American artist whose life and work are deeply intertwined with themes of social justice, memory, and the human experience. Born and raised in Japan, Green’s multicultural background has informed her artistic sensibilities, fostering a deep appreciation for diversity and the power of storytelling. After earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Kansas and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Green embarked on a prolific artistic career spanning several decades. Her work encompasses a wide range of mediums, including painting, ceramics, and installation, with a particular focus on issues related to incarceration, capital punishment, and food insecurity. Green’s commitment to activism and advocacy is evident in her ongoing projects, such as The Last Supper, which sheds light on the human cost of the death penalty through the lens of last meal requests. Throughout her life, Green has used art as a vehicle for social change, inspiring dialogue, empathy, and action within communities around the world.

Julie Green’s thought-provoking series The Last Supper offers a poignant reflection on capital punishment and the human toll it exacts. Born out of Green’s deep concern for social justice, this ongoing project consists of hundreds of ceramic plates, each meticulously painted with the final meal requests of death row inmates before their execution. Through her art, Green humanizes these individuals, giving voice to their stories and highlighting the arbitrary nature of justice in the modern world. By juxtaposing the mundane act of ordering a last meal with the solemnity of impending death, Green prompts viewers to confront uncomfortable truths about the criminal justice system and the morality of state-sanctioned violence. The Last Supper stands as a powerful testament to Green’s commitment to using art as a means of bearing witness to the complexities of the human condition and advocating for compassion and empathy in the face of adversity.