Bio.
Julie Rosenberg is a New York-based contemporary designer, visual artist, and institutional art-world leader who is fundamentally redefining the landscape of the electric guitar. Born into a prominent New York real estate and design lineage, her multidisciplinary foundation was built through formal academic studies at Ithaca College and Columbia University, paired with a rich background as a performing guitarist in the Westchester County, New York music community. Her genetic ties to American music history extend directly through her cousin, Max Yasgur, the iconic host of the 1969 Woodstock Festival.
A fierce champion of the regional arts ecosystem, Rosenberg served for four years as the President of the Katonah Museum Artists' Association, where she modernized the organization post-pandemic and successfully secured its historic first exhibition in 2026 within the main galleries of the Katonah Museum of Art. In 2023, her groundbreaking fusion of fine art and performance was captured in the documentary film, Gimme More Guitar. Validating her status as a premier regional creator, she was named one of eight top "Makers" by Westchester Magazine in November 2025, headlined a prestigious curated two-person gallery exhibition in her hometown of Katonah, and debuted her masterwork "Born on the Fourth of July" at ArtsWestchester. Her functional sculpture "Sonia" (a tribute to Sonia Delaunay) was successfully auctioned at the Katonah Museum of Art Gala at Blue Hill at Stone Barns.
Today, Rosenberg operates an influential digital platform of over 25,000 followers, with collectors and across the United States, and creates 1-of-1 avant-garde functional sculptures from her private studio just an hour north of New York City.
Artist Statement.
My practice exists at the absolute intersection of fine art, live performance, and avant-garde instrument styling. Having spent a highly rewarding life playing out on stages as a guitarist, I have always viewed the instrument as an extension of human energy. My creative sensibility was forged in the bedrock of New York entrepreneurship and artistic mastery. Raised by a father who was a prominent real estate magnate in the Bronx - a five-generation real estate family business - and a mother who is an accomplished painter, luxury home, textile, and furniture designer, spatial curation, structural lines, and color theory are embedded into my DNA. My deep-rooted requirement to be true to myself extends directly through my family lineage of pioneers and leaders who made their mark in their respective arenas. My practice honors this heritage by transforming high-octane stage tools into investment-grade sculptural assets built for curated environments.
My goal is to break the sterile, corporate manufacturing tropes of the guitar world and pull the instrument onto the wall alongside the finest contemporary art collections. Saturated in vibrant colorful arrangements and influenced by the rhythmic geometry of pioneers like Sonia Delaunay, and Kandinsky, my work introduces bold, non-objective abstract artwork onto master built custom guitars creating the perfect synergy of art and music. These are not your grandfather’s commercial instruments, yet they are also not meant to live quietly in their cases. They are meticulously hand-painted, unrepeatable objets d'art engineered for both visual arresting power in a gallery space and high-performance on a global stage. They are built to sit beside high-art luxury assets, yet they can be taken down that night and brought straight to the stadium lights.
The physics of Form & Surface.
From body to guitar, the path to creating a fully functioning instrument is exciting—and never a straight line. No two are ever the same. Sometimes the process takes days; sometimes weeks or longer. But it always begins with a vision. A pattern. A genre. A theme or a vibe. Colors begin to form a swatch in my mind’s eye, and then I begin. It isn’t until I’m days in—sometimes weeks—that I know exactly what I’m painting.
ART YOU CAN PLAY
My guitars are made to stand alone as works of art—and to be played to your heart’s content: on stage, in the studio, or in your living room. Growing up, my parents taught me that every brushstroke is worth taking. And it’s not only okay to play it loud—it’s essential.
THE PALETTE
Color is the key. I’ve found a distinctive palette that runs throughout my collection and makes my work recognizable, while the way those colors coexist and play with one another is different from guitar to guitar. The combinations are endless—and endlessly fascinating to me. The guitar body was my first canvas. I painted in the background of a long career as a physical therapist until it became clear that I needed to give my art my full attention. My passion of non-objective art was ignited by artists Kandinsky, Hilla Rebay, Sonia Delaunay, and Picasso, but it is my mother who as my first and forever influencer who continues to inspire my process today. As an artist, designer, woman, and consummate creator, my mom brought an unmistakable sense of style and attitude to everything she touched—from furniture and homes to needlepoint and fashion. That sensibility is in my DNA and continues to inform the way I see and create.
INSPIRATION IN MOTION
My inspiration comes from everywhere: music, fabrics and patterns, fashion, architecture, film, history, and the decades of movement my body experienced as a competitive triathlete. All of it lives somewhere in my artist’s playbook.I work spontaneously, from the top of my head to the tip of my brush. Nothing is pre-drawn, traced, or sketched. The painting unfolds as I go, much like an improvised riff. I follow the inspiration, take risks, and keep going—even when a design pushes me to the edge of exhaustion. Once the painting begins to reveal itself, the instrument follows. Hardware, shapes, finishes, and other details evolve alongside the artwork. On some models, I use clear pickguards to offer a glimpse beneath the surface—a nod to my physical therapy days and to the working anatomy and machinery that brings the instrument to life. The wood begins unfinished and pre-configured. It receives the usual sealing and preparation, but that’s where usual ends. With the painting, all bets are off. Anything goes. My team of expert luthiers and finishers then brings the completed vision together, building each instrument to the highest standard of playability and performance.
