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 Jill Joli Wulkan
jillwulkan@msn.com

 "For me, painting is the creative equivalent of doing laundry. I start with a big mound of unconnected thoughts and visual triggers. Some are well-worn favorites, while others emerge only for special occasions. They are sorted, spun and cleansed; some go in the gentle cycle; other, more enduring ones get the permanent press. At the end, everything gets put neatly in its proper place, ready to meet the world."

Jill came to the Sarasota area in 1996, after retiring from Putnam-St. Clair, an advertising and marketing firm that she and her husband, Ron, founded in 1981. Based in Connecticut, the company served prestigious corporate clients all over the country. Jill was the company’s art director during those years, which account for her design and geometric precision. Prior to starting Putnam-St. Clair, Jill attended Vassar College, worked at several advertising firms in New York, and was Vice President of Creative Services for American Express' Publishing Division.

Upon moving to the Sarasota area, Jill utilized her commercial art and design experience by developing and honing her unique style of precise geometric abstraction. She combines a hard-edge design discipline with bold,colorful multi-point perspectives that invite the viewer to journey through the dimensional complexities of each painting.

“I like to think of my work as ‘accessible abstraction.’ The viewer can readily identify the architectural references, and can discern such imagery as a bookshelf, a cat, a room, a child’s game, or other common items that exist around us. What I see in these objects are the aggressive bold lines, the sinewy curves, and the soaring angles ... the simple, beautiful essence of all things ordinary.”

Jill’s work has been regularly included in local and regional juried and invitational shows, and she has won numerous monetary awards. Her work has been featured in local solo exhibitions in Sarasota. Her work, “Edifice Complex,” was accepted in the 2004 National Biennial art exhibition at the Visual Arts Center in Punta Gorda, Florida. Most recently, her work was featured in a 2005 solo exhibition at Art Center Sarasota, and her work is shown continuously at the Venice Yacht Club. She has been commissioned to paint several works of art, and her paintings are included in many private collections throughout the United States.