About the artist
Julia Brooker was born in Surrey in 1953 and grew up in the south and the west of England. After leaving university she lived in Cardiff and France and worked as a project manger in construction.
She retrained as an artist late in life, going to university at the same time as her son did. Initially undertaking a 2 year Foundation course in Cardiff, Brooker then went on to graduate with a first class honours degree in fine art painting from Cheltenham College of Art in 2000 and set up her studio in Cardiff. At the same time as studying, Brooker worked one day a week lecturing on housing development and law at Cardiff University.
Brooker was inspired to use aluminium as a material after seeing a work by Jason Martin in the Lisson gallery, London.
I fell in love with aluminium…. how it reflects light through veils of colour. I love colour and light. They excite me like a child in a sweet shop. I am always looking, thinking about, even dreaming about colour and paint. I hope that my paintings stop people for a few minutes and that they just want to stop and quietly look.
About the works
There are four groups of Brooker's works in Chartered Accountants' Hall. Firstly Trellised Forms (2018) is a group of 3 pictures (pigment and bronzed paint on aluminium sheet) which are hung prominently in the One Moorgate Place Club. These paintings were specially commissioned by ICAEW.
Secondly, two long rectangular paintings in a lobby of the first floor, Moon Glade (2007) and Dark Wood (2012) and thirdly a series of 5 square paintings (paint on aluminium sheet) also on the first floor, along the meeting rooms corridor: October Morning, Leaf IV, (2007), Wood 2 (2009), Frangipane . and Baby Breath(2010).
Lastly, there are two paintings in the staff offices in the 1960s/70s extension. These paintings, Tangerine Dream (2010) and Rachel II (2008),were chosen to match the orange theme of this floor.
With the exception of Dark Wood and Trellised Forms, which were commissioned, all the other paintings were selected by ICAEW and Jill Hutchins of the Curwen Gallery.
