Julz Kelley is a multidisciplinary conceptual artist in Oakland and San Francisco, CA. Self-taught but formally trained in dance, Julz started their art career choreographing provocative modern dance pieces in the conservative Central Valley while studying journalism. They later became a mental health counselor and drag queen, where they performed weekly in the underground gay club, experimenting with satirical self-portraits, as well as high femme, masc, and queer aesthetics.
Kelley studied sociology and was invited to present their research on white Christian nationalism and LGBTQ oppression during both Trump administrations at the 2026 Pacific Sociology Conference. In their art, they regularly research, incorporate, and deconstruct intersectional feminist concepts such as power, whiteness, sexuality, gender, and the body, while applying psychological frameworks and the sociological imagination to personal narratives.
Their practice remains in constant process with what society deems “shameful” (or what society does not hold enough shame about), creating work that examines the shadow side of human existence through the lens of play. They transform oppression while exploring power dynamics through painting, photography, installation, avant-garde fashion, experimental shorts, performance, choreography, and satire.
Recent works include Gender Expressionism, an abstract expressionist series that explores gender as a social construction and examines what it means when expression falls outside traditional norms. Their art has been featured at venues such as SFAC Main Gallery, YBCA, Root Division, SOMArts, Right Window Gallery, Little Raven Gallery, Artist Television Access, Submission, The Lab, The Stud, the Seattle and Boston LGBT Film Festivals, The Center for Sex and Culture, and internationally.