Julian Tejera was born and raised in New Jersey, bouncing around from different towns and schools along the way. Being shy as a child, he found his voice by spending endless hours drawing in his sketchbooks or notebooks, instead of taking notes of course.
Graduating in 2008 with his BFA in illustration from the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University, he soon realized that his true love was the human figure. This led him to the Academy of Art University where he received his MFA in figurative painting in 2015. Julian has been featured as Southwest Art Magazine’s 21 under 30 (2016), a number of The Artist Magazine competitions, as well as published in Strokes of Genius 9.
Conquering his shyness (sort of), he discovered a deep love for teaching and engaging with students on their journey. Recognizing the challenges of painting from his own experience, few things bring him more joy than a student’s “AHA” moment.
He is currently embracing the simple mantra that “Beauty = Hope.” No longer shying away from Beauty as a higher ideal, he eschews the Ugliness of Postmodern cynicism, nihilism, and irony, choosing instead to “spread joy and hope” with his art.
In 2024, Julian opened the Fine Art Academy of Montclair, a school dedicated to bridging traditional and contemporary methods for making art.
Julian Tejera received a 2024 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
Photo credit Ymages Productions, LLC
EDUCATION
2015 - MFA Fine Art Painting, Academy of Art Univeristy
2008 - BFA Illustration, Lesley University College of Art & Design (Formerly The Art Institute of Boston)
TEACHING
2022 - current: Caldwell University
2021 - current: Montclair State University
2009 - current: Montclair Art Museum
2020 - 2022: Founder and director of Pushing Colored Dirt
2017 - 2020: One River School of Art & Design
2010 - Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University
UPCOMING SHOWS
SOLO SHOWS
2023 - Everyday Wonder Era Contemporary, Philadelphia, PA
2018 - Personal Visions Emerge Gallery, Saugerties, NY
GALLERY REPRESENTATION
Jack Meier Gallery, Houston, TX
GROUP SHOWS
2023 - Montclair 10 Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, Montclair, NJ
2020 - Summer Salon Clerestory Gallery & partners, Montclair, NJ
2018 - Montclair Ten Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, Montclair, NJ
2018 - Go Figure! The Rectangle Gallery, Orange, NJ
2018 - Red Emerge Gallery, Saugerties, NY
2017 - Montclair Dix Redux, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Montclair, NJ
2017 - 688 Post Art Show 688 Post Street, San Francisco, CA
2017 - Art Muse Contest J ack Meier Gallery, Houston,TX
2016 - Petit Emerge Gallery, Saugerties, NY
2015 - SpringShow Academy o fArt University, San Francisco, CA
2014 - Tiny Studio Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2014 - Spring Show Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA
2013 -Jazz Night Empire Hotel, NewYork, NY
2013 - Pure Flight Soo Rye Gallery, Portsmouth, NH
2013 - Community Art Show Arts Guild NJ, Rahway, NJ
2013 - Bergen Diversity Art Center of Northern NJ, New Milford, NJ
2012 - Bergen Diversity Art Center of Northern NJ, New Milford, NJ
2012 - Self Portrait Project The Sketchbook Project, Brooklyn Art Library, Brooklyn, NY
2011 - Focus Art Center of Northern NJ, New Milford, NJ
2011 - Eclectic Visions Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ
2010 - SmallWorksShow Spirit Gallery, New London, CT
2009 - Fantasy Show Spirit Gallery, New London, CT
2009 - Faculty Exhibition Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ
2009 - Illustration Master Class Exhibition I MC, Amherst College, Amherst, MA
2008 - Illustration Master Class Exhibition I MC, Amherst College, Amherst, MA
2008 - Senior BFA Exhibit Art Institute of Boston, Boston, MA
2008 - Illustration Show @ Glovebox Goody Glovers, Boston, MA
2008 - Senior Illustration Show Art Institute of Boston, Boston, MA
2004 - Night of 1000 Drawings The Drawing Center, New York, NY
Awards/Publications
Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts 2024
Bold Brush Competition January 2020, 3rd place
Strokes of Genius 9: The Best of Drawing 2017
Art Muse Contest Gallery Representation Finalist, 2016
33rd Annual Competition The Artist’s Magazine, Finalist Figure/Portraiture, 2016
21 Under 31 Southwest Art Magazine, 2016
Jerry’s Artarama Self-Portrait Competition Honorable Mention, 2016
All Media Competition The Artist’s Magazine, Honorable Mention
MFA Annual Spring Show 1st Place, Academy of Art University, San Francisco, 2015
Bold Brush Competition May 2015, Jury’s Favorite 15%
MFA Annual Spring Show 1st Place, Academy of Art University, San Francisco, 2014
Commercial Work
The Upper Deck Company Goodwin Champions 2021
The Upper Deck Company Goodwin Champions 2022