Julian Kent

Galerie Sardine is proud to present Breathturn, a show of ten new paintings by Cleveland-based artist Julian Kent (b. 2001).

Kent’s richly textured portraits occupy a category entirely their own. Set primarily in domestic environments, they capture individuals navigating the mundane complexities of everyday life—moments of solitude, contemplation, and quiet revelation. He views his work as “sociological studies of human emotions,”.

His oil paintings are palpably physical, incorporating unconventional materials like sand, wax and plaster to embrace sculptural techniques that extend far beyond traditional brushwork. These heavily worked surfaces mirror the complexity of the subject’s inner landscape, creating a tactile quality that draws viewers closer while the accumulated layers hint at the stratified nature of memory, emotion, and identity.

Roberta Smith wrote in her New York Times review of his 2023 exhibition, Everyday Life at Kerry Schuss Gallery, NY, that his work “is primarily psychological and emotional, conveyed in subtle glances and gestures…[his] paintings exude a youthful perfection. They operate as both narratives and objects with utmost efficiency; nothing is wasted or left over.”

Through his synthesis of physical and psychological portraiture, Kent transforms the ordinary act of looking into a meditation on the deeper currents of human experience.