Who Is Julie Mehretu? Age, Biography, and Wiki
Julie Mehretu, born in 1970, is a prominent American contemporary visual artist known for her large-scale, abstract paintings that explore themes of geography, globalization, and history. As of 2025, Julie is 55 years old. She was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and later moved to the United States, where she pursued her education and established a remarkable career in the art world. Mehretu’s work often incorporates elements of cartography and architectural plans, creating intricate layers that invite viewers to explore complex narratives.
| Occupation | Painters |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 1970 (age 55) |
| Age | 55 Years |
| Birth Place | Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Empire |
| Horoscope | |
| Country | Ethiopia |
Popularity
Julie Mehretu's Popularity over time
Height, Weight & Measurements
Julie Mehretu stands at an impressive height of 5 feet 8 inches (173 cm). While her weight is not publicly disclosed, her artistic practice involves physical engagement that is often reflected in the dynamic quality of her work.
Family, Dating & Relationship Status
As of 2025, Julie Mehretu is known to maintain a private personal life, and details about her relationships are not extensively covered in the media. It is reported that she has been in a long-term relationship, but the identity of her boyfriend or girlfriend has not been officially confirmed. Mehretu values her family background and experiences that shape her art, often drawing inspiration from her Ethiopian heritage and her upbringing.
They fled the country in 1977 to escape political turmoil and moved to East Lansing, Michigan, for her father's teaching position in economic geography at Michigan State University.
Net Worth and Salary
Julie Mehretu’s net worth is estimated to be around $10 million as of 2025. Her earnings stem primarily from her prolific career as an artist, with significant income generated through gallery exhibitions, art sales, and commissions. Mehretu’s artwork has fetched high prices at auctions, making her one of the most sought-after contemporary artists today.
Career, Business, and Investments
Julie Mehretu has exhibited her work in prestigious institutions worldwide, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Her innovative style has earned her numerous awards and recognitions, including a MacArthur Fellowship in 2005. In addition to her art career, Mehretu is also involved in various philanthropic initiatives aimed at supporting access to arts education for underprivileged youth. She continues to explore new mediums and collaborations, reflecting her commitment to evolving as an artist.
In 2007, the investment bank Goldman Sachs gave Mehretu a $5 million commission for a lobby mural. The resulting work Mural was the size of a tennis court and consisted of overlaid financial maps, architectural drawings of financial institutions, and references to works by other artists.
Calvin Tomkins of the New Yorker called it "the most ambitious painting I've seen in a dozen years", and another commentator described it as "one of the largest and most successful public art works in recent times".
Social Network
Julie Mehretu is active on several social media platforms, including Instagram, where she shares insights into her artistic process and engages with fans and fellow artists. Her online presence allows her to connect with a broader audience and showcase her thoughts on current events, art, and culture.
Emperial Construction, Istanbul (2004) exemplifies Mehretu's use of layers in a city's history. Arabic lettering and forms that reference Arabic script scatter around the canvas. In Stadia I, II, and III (2004) Mehretu conveys the cultural importance of the stadium through marks and layers of flat shape.
Each Stadia contains an architectural outline of a stadium, abstracted flags of the world, and references to corporate logos.
Mogamma: A Painting in Four Parts (2012), the collective name for four monumental canvases that were included in dOCUMENTA (13), relates to 'Al-Mogamma', the name of the all purpose government building in Tahrir Square, Cairo, which was both instrumental in the 2011 revolution and architecturally symptomatic of Egypt's post-colonial past.
The word 'Mogamma', however, means 'collective' in Arabic and historically, has been used to refer to a place that shares a mosque, a synagogue and a church and is a place of multi faith.
A later work, The Round City, Hatshepsut (2013) contains architectural traces of Baghdad, Iraq, itself – its title referring to the historical name given to the city in ancient maps.
Another painting, Insile (2013) built up from a photo image of Believers' Palace amid civilian buildings, activates its surface with painterly ink gestures, blurring and effacing the ruins beneath.
Education
Julie Mehretu attended Kalamazoo College, where she earned her bachelor's degree before going on to receive an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her educational background laid the foundation for her distinctive visual language and critical engagement with contemporary issues, ultimately paving the way for her successful career in the art world.
A graduate of East Lansing High School, Mehretu received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and did a junior year abroad at Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD) in Dakar, Senegal, then attended the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island, where she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1997.
She was chosen for the CORE program at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, a residency that provided a studio, a stipend, and an exhibition at the museum.
