// Julio’s available work //
Julio Del Rio was born in El Tepehuaje, Michoacán, Mexico and immigrated to the United States when he was about 10 years old. He joined NIAD in 2007 when he was just 19 at the recommendation of his neighbor, close friend, and fellow NIAD artist Luis Estrada. Though it is difficult to conceive of, Julio asserts that he had no artistic inclination prior to joining NIAD.
Julio’s reserved demeanor belies his playful art practice. Working mostly in ceramics and drawing, he doesn’t arrive at the NIAD studio with a plan in mind, but rather lets his momentary inspiration guide him. He works at a slow and steady pace, and with a repetition of mark-making that imbues his finished works with a beautifully layered complexity.
When asked by Studio Facilitator Joshua Solis what he likes most about arriving at NIAD, Julio responded that he enjoys the earthy smell of the moist clay. Under the guidance of ceramic studio facilitators Emma Spertus and Steen Kjorlie, Julio uses a modified coil method, where he builds up a structure, pinches, and smooths it. His color palette oscillates between bright and dark, and he often combines the two.
Taken by the fall season, Julio has made many pumpkins and, recently, darker-themed works like skulls and mummies. He also looks at magazine and book imagery about animals and pre-Columbian sculptures to inform his creations. A signature of his in his figurative pieces is to mis-match one green and one blue eye.
In his drawings, under the guidance of studio facilitators Andres Cisneros-Galindo, Liam Golden and Gabriel Garza, Julio’s work falls into two categories: small, single, and isolated faces and figures; and large, colorful abstracted lines that beam off the picture plane with an animated movement. Using colored pencil and oil pencil, these larger works contain a deeply mesmerizing quality.
Julio says that he is inspired by the linoleum prints made by his NIAD colleague Shana Harper, and that in the future he is interested in possibly exploring fiber as a medium.
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Julio Del Rio nació en El Tepehuaje, Michoacán, México y emigró a los Estados Unidos cuando tenía unos 10 años. Se unió a NIAD en 2007 cuando solo tenía 19 años por recomendación de su vecino, amigo y colega de NIAD, Luis Estrada. Aunque es difícil de concebir, Julio afirma que no tenía ninguna inclinación artística antes de unirse a NIAD.
La manera reservada de Julio desmiente su práctica artística lúdica. Trabajando principalmente en cerámica y dibujo, no llega al estudio de NIAD con un plan en mente, sino que se deja guiar por su inspiración momentánea. Trabaja a un ritmo lento y constante, y con una repetición de marcas que imbuye sus obras terminadas con una hermosa complejidad.
Cuando el facilitador del estudio Joshua Solis le preguntó qué es lo que más le gusta de llegar a NIAD, Julio respondió que le gusta el olor a tierra húmeda del barro. Bajo la guía de los facilitadores del estudio de cerámica Emma Spertus y Steen Kjorlie, Julio usa un método de espiral modificado, donde construye una estructura, la pellizca y la alisa. Su paleta de colores oscila entre claros y oscuros, y a menudo combina los dos
Tomado por la temporada de otoño, Julio ha hecho muchas calabazas y, recientemente, obras de temática más oscura como calaveras y momias. También ve imágenes de revistas y libros sobre animales y esculturas precolombinas para informar sus creaciones. Una de sus firmas en sus piezas figurativas es pintar un ojo verde y otro azul.
En sus dibujos, bajo la guía de los facilitadores del estudio Andrés Cisneros-Galindo, Liam Golden y Gabriel Garza, el trabajo de Julio se divide en dos categorías: rostros y figuras pequeños, únicos y aislados; y líneas abstractas grandes y coloridas que se proyectan desde el plano de la imagen con un movimiento animado. Usando lápiz de color y lápiz de aceite, estas obras más grandes contienen una calidad profundamente fascinante.
Julio dice que está inspirado en las impresiones de linóleo hechas por su colega de NIAD Shana Harper, y que en el futuro está interesado en explorar la fibra como medio.
exhibition history
Roses are Red, or, See what Kitty can do without fighting the war? organized by Liam Golden // NIAD Online Exhibition // August 2023
Mud Pie Mansion, organized by Kristin Farr // NIAD Online Exhibition // August 2023
OBJECT INSIDE OBJECT OUTSIDE INSIDE OBJECT OUTSIDE OBJECT organized by GGLA // NIAD Gallery Exhibition // August 2023
The Rainbow Dancing In The Dark organized by Liz Hernández // NIAD Online Exhibition // July 2023
Into the Brightness: Artists from Creativity Explored, Creative Growth & NIAD // Oakland Museum of California // May 2023
Animal, Animal, Vegetable, Vegetable, Mineral, Mineral organized by Nick Schutzenhofer // NIAD Online Exhibition // March 2023
Rainbow Cat Picnic organized by Cynthia Ona Innis // NIAD Online Exhibition // March 2023
What a Wonderful World! // An Exhibition in the Office Suite of Mayor Eduardo Martinez // NIAD Online Exhibition // February 2023
Subtle Sweetness organized by Jamie Walsh // NIAD Online Exhibition // January 2023
NIAD Ink: 35 Years of Prints organized by Andrés Cisneros-Galindo // Online Exhibition // December 2022
NIAD Holiday Gift Guide #1: NIAD is for Animal Lovers ,organized by Dorian Reid // Online Exhibition // November 2022
Making in Color, organized by Edwige Charlot // NIAD Online Exhibition // November 2022
All That Is Solid Becomes Vapor ,organized by Emily Chao // NIAD Online Exhibition // October 2022
Feeling Language, organized by Kate Laster // NIAD Gallery Exhibition // October 2022
Blow Like Magic In Their Face And Vanish organized by James Sterling Pitt // October 2022
Nueva Tierra // Guerrero Gallery Los Angeles // October 2022
Whales and Pencil Holders, organized by Emma Spertus // NIAD Annex Exhibition // September 2022
Day Or Night It Looks Like Night, organized by Liliana Herrera // NIAD Gallery Exhibition // September 2022
Told Through A Line, organized by Risa Lenore // NIAD Online Exhibition // September 2022
I Wanna See All My Friends At Once, organized by Cone Shape Top // NIAD Online Exhibition // August 2022
Living forces, organized by Fernanda Martinez // NIAD Online Exhibition // July 2022
A New Geometry, organized by e bond // NIAD Online Exhibition // July 2022
High Five, organized by Emma Spertus and Ember Avalos // NIAD Online Exhibition // June 2022
Summer Break, organized by Matthew Goldberg // NIAD Online Exhibition // June 2022
Quiet, organized by Matthew Pawlowski // NIAD Online Exhibition // April 2022
Can’t Be Shook, organized by Alex Gartelmann // NIAD Online Exhibition // April 2022
Ripples, organized by Esther Mallouh // UC Hastings Law, San Francisco // March 2022
DreamForms, curated by Lauren Ari and Julio Del Rio // NIAD Online Exhibition // March 2022
Eternal Idol, organized by Emily Harris // NIAD Online Exhibition // February 2022
Dreamforms // Richmond Art Center // January- March 2022
Menagerie on 23rd Street, organized by Prajakti Jayavant // NIAD Windows Exhibition // December 2021
Be Heard. Speak Up. // organized by Fenwick & West NIAD Windows Exhibition NIAD Art Center 2020
A Kind of Movement // organized by Jay Wehnert Portland Art And Learning Studio 2019
Have/Hold // organized by Julia Schwartz NIAD Art Center 2019
Ether Here Nor There: Anthony Grant x NIAD // NIAD Art Center 2019
Turn To Stone // organized by Em Kettner NIAD Art Center 2019
Butterfly, Sugar // organized by Bonanza NIAD Art Center 2019
Books, Man // organized by Mike Monteiro NIAD Art Center 2019
Redefining Contemporary Art // organized by Courtney Eldridge Depot Steamboat Springs 2019
Collective Memory: NIAD // organized by Hannah Mode 2019
Talking Heads: Figuration From Northern California Ceramicists // Curated organized by Susan Alexander and NIAD Art Center Museum of Northern California Art (monca) Chico 2018
Exquisite Corpse: CG x CE x NIAD // NIAD Art Center 2018
It’s Complicated // organized by Kathleen King NIAD Art Center 2018
Prints: An Overview NIAD Art Center 2018
Talking Heads // organized by Susan Alexander NIAD Art Center 2018
Cyrano // organized by Em Kettner NIAD Art Center 2018
Can Did // organized by Julio Rodriguez NIAD Art Center 2018
All Of The Light // organized by Gina Borg NIAD Art Center 2017
Heads // Left Field Gallery San Luis Obispo 2017
Word Play // organized by Kate Klingbeil NIAD Art Center 2017
Creature Feature // organized by John Casey NIAD Art Center 2017
Souls And Scenarios // organized by Gina Borg NIAD Art Center 2016
Adventure! // organized by Scott MacLeod NIAD Art Center 2015
Absence of Deliberate Silence // organized by Lacey Haslam NIAD Art Center 2015
Hermosas Criaturas: Ceramics And Drawings From Julio Del Rio // NIAD Art Center 2015
Making Friends // organized by John Casey NIAD Art Center 2015
Avatar // organized by Justine Frischmann NIAD Art Center 2014
Check Your Head: Some Figurative Work // NIAD Art Center 2013
Where Have All The People Gone? // organized by Amy Miller Village Theatre Art Gallery Danville 2013
Yes To The Dress Pop-Up Shop // organized by Peter Gravener NIAD Art Center 2013
Diamond Dogs Pet Supply Pop-Up Shop // NIAD Art Center 2103
Mud, Honey // NIAD Art Center 2013
Spring Training // NIAD Art Center 2013
Superduperultracool Shoppe // organized by Lisa Solomon NIAD ART Center 2013
You Are Here // organized by Robert Wuilfe NIAD Art Center 2013
Outsider Art // organized by Phil Linhares and OMCA Oakland Airport 2103
press
Star 82 Review Issue 10.1, edited by Alisa Golden // March 2022
Radio Free Richmond: Julio Del Rio Blends Animal And Imagination (2015, June)
San Francisco Chronicle: Art And Entertainment Picks, Aug. 18 (2013, August)
San Francisco Chronicle: NIAD Art Center’s Gifts Of Artistic Ability (2012, December)