Recently, more and more Houstonians have made a meteoric shift from the minimalistic home decor trend that held court for the better part of the last decade towards an embrace of full-on Maximalism. As stark white walls and grey flooring give way to bright wallpapers and organically-shaped tiles, it has become clear that FUN is trending.
As always, the best way to dip one’s toe into a new personal aesthetic is through art. Over the past five years, Houston pop artist and ceramicist Julia McLaurin has created a fan base of collectors who enjoy, seek, and embrace fun. Through sculptures depicting emojis, Goldfish, Cheese-It’z, Pop-Tarts, and Lucky Charms, McLaurin’s work glazes its way into the shared experiential psyche of Xennials looking to incorporate vignettes of nostalgia into their homes.
“It’s nontraditional,” McLaurin says of her sculptural subjects. “I like to iconicize everyday objects, which is the pop artist in me.”
With three young children, Goldfish crackers have been a part of McLaurin’s life for the past decade. “They are everywhere, in my car — everywhere. It’s not the healthiest snack, but it gets the job done.” It’s not difficult to understand how the popular children’s food inspired her sculptures: “It’s just such a cute shape, and I love the color.”
Goldfish wall sculptures paved the way to immortalizing other iconic 90s snack foods, plus standing sculptures of Whataburger combos, Happy Meals, and larger-than-life bottles of Hidden Valley Ranch. McLaurin’s Whataburger sculptures recently landed the artist in the Whataburger Museum of Art at SXSW. Newer works in the “Neo-Pop” genre include things like bottles of Chanel No. 5, Squishmallows, and her extremely popular emoji series.
At just six inches in diameter, the semi-spherical, emoji sculptures are wildly accessible to anyone beginning their art journey. “I think it’s a Xennial thing,” says McLaurin. “That micro-generation between 1978 and 1983, where we didn’t grow up with cellphones, but we had them in high school and college, right? I vibe a lot with that. As a pop artist, when I first started making the emojis it was like, ‘That’s so cute, Julia! What a cute little project.’ But now I have a big installation at Hobby and I sell them all the time.”
Houston Airport System curator of public art Alton DuLaney selected 100 emojis for Hobby Airport, with 88 installed between terminals 1-5. The very public display of McLaurin’s emojis results in the works being purchased by fans as far away as Singapore.
As for why the emojis have such a “gotta have it” affect on people: “I think people really relate to having something that you always see in the digital realm put into 3D,” says McLaurin. “In today’s world, it’s kind of a cool effect.”
McLaurin is locally represented by Mont Art House, but maintained a separate studio and gallery at The Silos until her move to Spring Branch earlier this year. The new “JuliArt Clay Studio” space allows McLaurin to offer monthly workshops, host ceramic painting parties, baby showers, and everything between. Next month, McLaurin will launch a six week “Clay 101” course that is sure to be a hit.
A resident of Spring Branch herself, McLaurin decided that the continuous lack of a local art scene wasn’t going to change itself. “There is not an art scene [here],” says McLaurin. “My mission is now to bring artwork to the heart of Spring Branch. Bring it here where I live and to the people around me.”
The new studio space allows McLaurin to invite the community to participate in art and to enjoy the space for workshops and events during slower months. “It’s nice to have a sort of two-pronged business because in the summer the gallery stuff slows down, then the classes and things pick up. It works out.”
The ink is still drying on a representation contract in a new gallery on the West Coast. The new K&K Gallery in Culver City (Los Angeles) is the first step towards artistic manifest destiny for McLaurin: “They have a huge pop art scene out there.” What’s next for this up-and-coming irreverent pop artist? “My goal is Art|Basel, that’s my dream,” she says.
