Held Between

Held Between exists in a quiet state of suspension — where movement and stillness meet. Layered passages of softened neutrals and deepened blue create a presence that is felt before it is understood.

Forms emerge and recede in gentle rhythm, held within a balance of openness and restraint. Traces of gesture and revision remain visible across the surface, allowing time and process to stay present rather than concealed.

The work invites a slower way of seeing — where meaning is not imposed, but discovered gradually through stillness, balance, and the spaces left open.

The work is intended to sit with presence and clarity within a considered interior.
Each work is created using professional materials, made to last.

Delivery & Installation

This work is delivered rolled for safe transit.
Professional stretching or framing can be arranged through Bluethumb during purchase.

This approach allows the work to be tailored precisely to its final space — a preferred option for collectors and interior designers.

Frame shown for styling purposes only and not included unless selected at checkout.
The surface is sealed with a satin varnish for protection.

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Beauty is not superficial — it is felt, lived, and remembered.

Julia Chuquis is an Australian contemporary abstract expressionist painter whose work explores landscape not as a place, but as a state of being.
Drawing from long-standing connections to nature, her paintings emerge through quiet observation, memory, and lived experience rather than direct representation.

Working primarily with layered acrylic and oil, Chuquis builds surfaces through accumulation and restraint. Muted palettes, suspended forms, and visible traces of earlier decisions create a sense of depth and endurance. Veils of translucency allow earlier layers to remain present, held rather than concealed.

Deeply connected to the natural world, Chuquis approaches painting as a practice of observation and presence.
Time spent in nature continues to shape her practice, informing works that seek not to depict a landscape, but to evoke how it is felt — expansive, grounding, and quietly transformative.

Her compositions resist overt narrative in favour of presence. Forms evoke geological and internal landscapes shaped by stillness, weathering, and quiet continuity. Meaning is not imposed but allowed to surface slowly, inviting contemplative engagement.

Julia releases only a select number of original works each year. Allowing each painting the time and space to develop without urgency, she gives each work the attention required for it to arrive in its own time. This measured approach ensures that every work remains thoughtful, refined, and deeply considered.

Her practice reflects an ongoing inquiry into how art can hold emotion without declaring it — offering viewers a space for reflection, connection, and recognition. Through her paintings, Chuquis invites us into freedom, presence, and the unseen forces of nature that quietly shape our lives.

Her work has been exhibited in Australia and New York, and featured in multiple publications and across television and film, including Grand Designs Australia. Selected for exhibition in New York in 2025 and recognised as a finalist in the Bluethumb Art Prize (2023), Chuquis’ paintings are held in private collections throughout Australia and internationally.