The Evelyn Peeler Peacock Gallery at The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes (The ARTS Council) invites you to a reception for Testimony, a solo show featuring works by Julie Waltz-Stalker, on Friday, October 24, from 5-7pm. An artist talk will be held at 6pm.
Testimony is on view from Monday, October 20, to Friday, November 21, 2025, at The ARTS Council, 79 W Market St, Corning, NY.
More About Julie:
Julie Waltz-Stalker is a visual artist based in Corning, NY. She creates primarily in oil paint, alternating between representational and abstract styles. Much of her work is informed by her personal history and explores the intersection between what is seen and unseen, the physical and the psychological. In 2006, Julie received her BA in Fine Art from Houghton College, with concentrations in painting and sculpture. She spent three years as a studio assistant and apprentice to the painter Thomas S. Buechner before focusing on her own practice. Julie has received multiple awards in juried shows, and her work has been displayed in solo and group exhibitions across the continental U.S.
Artist Statement:
Testimony, n.
1. a formal written or spoken statement, especially one given in a court of law.
2. evidence or proof provided by the existence or appearance of something.
3. a public recounting of a religious conversion or experience.
4. (archaic) a solemn protest or declaration.
In Evangelical culture, it is common practice to share your testimony: to publicly describe your conversion to Christianity as an example and inspiration for others. The testimony I share in this body of work is more of a reckoning with Christianity and a celebration of breaking free.
As a child, all I knew was the reality presented by those in power over me. When I was told my spirit was sinful, my flesh manipulative and deserving of shame, I did what I needed to survive, concealing myself under a mask of obedience and compliance. Through ritualized physical punishment, I was taught to dissociate from my wicked body.
It took me half my life to realize that the deep pain and angst I felt was not a result of my inherent wrongness. It was a physical embodiment of the dissonance caused by trying to conform to a worldview that was antithetical to what I knew in my soul was right. In the years since then, I have been teaching myself to trust my heart— learning to navigate good and evil not with fixed labels but with instinct and observation.
This exhibit is a personal narrative that begins in a sheltered, authoritarian childhood and evolves toward a more fluid, curious worldview. Each representational painting is a testimony to past trauma; each abstract painting is an opportunity to process and find a way forward. The sculpture reconciles the past with the present: a fragmented self-finding healing through empathy and compassion.
Questions? Contact Victoria Scott, Gallery Curator, at
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Also check out other Arts events in Corning, Fine Arts events in Corning, Exhibitions in Corning.
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