Julia Fish
Second Study for Ghost Threshold—with Hermitage spectrum on grey : west to east, if west is green | south to north if north is blue, 2025
gouache on paper with graphite and archival pen
14 x 28 in (35.6 x 71.1 cm)
framed: 16 3/8 x 30 1/4 in (41.6 x 76.8 cm)
framed: 16 3/8 x 30 1/4 in (41.6 x 76.8 cm)
'The title underlines my interest in a specific color spectrum, addressing both an optical as well as spatial experience of the house in Chicago. Here, that spectrum is imported into...
"The title underlines my interest in a specific color spectrum, addressing both an optical as well as spatial experience of the house in Chicago. Here, that spectrum is imported into the structure of what was once a threshold space in the south gallery. The work is facing the source of the image. In 2023, after the first ‘Hearth’ project, I brought my attention to the perimeter parquet double lines, this was a fascinating presence—a “ghost” threshold...as though this threshold is the best friend to the hearth or vice versa.
Of course, the door has been covered with renovations over a long period of time. To my pleasure, the other side of this wall is the door, and it is the library: the bookcase of artists who have presented their work here. The absence of the door and the presence on the other side of the wall of “the door with the library” became a very rich experience. The portal has evaporated, and the library is implicit. I was fortunate that the number of inlaid boards and the spacing of them allowed me to place the six spectrum colors into the structure…with the interval of other un-tinted places between, the colors could suggest an evaporation, or a visitation."
—Julia Fish, 2026
Of course, the door has been covered with renovations over a long period of time. To my pleasure, the other side of this wall is the door, and it is the library: the bookcase of artists who have presented their work here. The absence of the door and the presence on the other side of the wall of “the door with the library” became a very rich experience. The portal has evaporated, and the library is implicit. I was fortunate that the number of inlaid boards and the spacing of them allowed me to place the six spectrum colors into the structure…with the interval of other un-tinted places between, the colors could suggest an evaporation, or a visitation."
—Julia Fish, 2026
