Catherine Just (Los Angeles, b. 1968)
Catherine Just is a visual artist and photographer based in Los Angeles whose work traverses the psychological, spiritual, and emotional dimensions of belonging and connection. Working primarily with large format film cameras, long exposures, vintage Polaroid cameras, and alternative processes, her practice engages the invisible thresholds between presence and memory, intimacy and absence.
Over the past three decades, Just has developed several bodies of work that are as conceptually rigorous as they are emotionally resonant. Her images surface what cannot be spoken: the space between words, between breath, between heartbeats—between what is known with the mind and what is known without knowing. She often hand-sews with embroidery thread directly onto her photographs and uses a vintage typewriter to inscribe words and textures, creating a layered, tactile field of memory and meaning.
Rooted in personal experience—including over 37 years of continuous sobriety from meth addiction—her work is a deep inquiry into transformation, the recovery of inner wisdom, and the ongoing evolution of identity through relationships with self and others. Her apprenticeship with Miguel Ruiz, author of The Four Agreements, continues to influence her philosophical and creative orientation: she approaches image-making as a portal for truth-telling, reality-questioning, and the alchemical process of personal and collective healing.
Just received her BFA in Conceptual Photography, Film, and Video from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Her work has been exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions including Photo London, The Milan Photo Fair, Les Rencontres d'Arles, Photos de Femmes (Château de LaLande), and WhiteWalls Art Projects (Australia). Her photographs have appeared on the cover of National Geographic Magazine, in O Magazine, and other international publications. She is represented by WhiteWalls Art Projects (New South Wales) and Alta Vista Arts (Los Angeles).
In addition to her fine art practice, Catherine leads retreats and workshops internationally and teaches at the Los Angeles Center of Photography. She is the single mother of Max, her teenage son with Down syndrome, with whom she collaborates on projects that reframe visibility, inclusion, and unconditional love.
EDUCATION
BFA in Photography, Film & Video
The Minneapolis College of Art and Design, 1992
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2025
Photo London, Fabrik Gallery – London, England
Milan Photo Fair, Alta Vista Arts Gallery – Milan, Italy
2024
Alta Vista Arts – Paris, France
OFFUS, Bendix Building – Los Angeles, CA
2023
Alta Vista Arts – Paris, France
PBA & Associates – Beverly Hills, CA
WhiteWall Art Projects Gallery – New South Wales, Australia
2022
WhiteWall Art Projects Gallery – New South Wales, Australia
2021
Laurel Canyon Open Studio – Los Angeles, CA
Monochrome, WhiteWall Art Projects – New South Wales, Australia
2020
Photos de Femme – Château Lomenie, France
Photos de Femme – Château de LaLande, France
Art in Isolation – North Dakota Museum of Art
WhiteWall Art Projects Gallery – New South Wales, Australia
2018
The Polaroid Show – Brooklyn, NY
Duncan Miller Gallery, Les Rencontres d'Arles – Arles, France
Home, SE Center for Photography – Greenville, SC
The Shed Collective Pop-Up with MOPLA – Los Angeles, CA
2016
She, Pop-Up Art Show with Jennah Ferrer Foronda + Fantine Reucha – Paris, France
2015
Personal Project, LA Center of Photography – Los Angeles, CA
2014
The Mobile Photo, MN Center of Photography – Minneapolis, MN
2013
Cell Phone Exhibition, Lenscratch
Love + Lust, Open to Interpretation, Lenscratch
2012
Love, Lenscratch Online Photography Magazine
2011
Self Portrait Group Show, Gallery 122 – Minneapolis, MN
2005
Juried Show, Newspace Center of Photography – Portland, OR
2001
Group Show, The Darkroom Gallery – Portland, OR
Abajo del Rio, Solo Show, Forbidden Fruit Gallery – Portland, OR
PODCASTS & PUBLICATIONS
2021
Inside Story with April Adams
Dream with Dan Podcast, Dan Mangena
Lane Kennedy Podcast
2020 – Present
Into the Deep with Catherine Just, Podcast
2017
White Hot Truth, Danielle LaPorte
2014
Digital Photography School
Refinery29
DanielleLaPorte.com
Desire Map, Author Image
2013
PsychCentral.com – How to Unlock Creativity and Move Stuck Energy
2012
Enso Radio Interview
2010
O Magazine Online
2003
National Geographic, Cover
AWARDS & HONORS
2020
Photos de Femme, Château Lomenie – France
• 1st Place: The Crown
• Honorable Mentions: Self Portrait in Paris, The Stitched Heart, Day 23 of Quarantine
2014
Honorable Mention: The Mobile Show, Minneapolis Photo Center
RESIDENCIES
OFFUS Gallery, Los Angeles – July 2024 to March 2025
TEACHING & MENTORING EXPERIENCE
Courses & Programs
The Visual Poetry of Self Portraiture, LA Center of Photography – Sept 2024
Make the Work, Online Coaching Program – 2023–Present
Self Portraiture as Medicine – Online – 2012–Present
Art as Medicine – Online – 2014–2020
Conceptual Photography 101 – Online – 2012–2016
Mentorship & Healing Work
1:1 Mentoring for Women Artists and Women in Recovery – 2012–Present
Abundant Artist Activation Sessions – 2022–Present
EFT Tapping Sessions – 2019–Present
Retreats & Experiences
Artist Retreats in Paris and the South of France – 2016–Present
Photography Sessions "Capturing Breath on Film" – France, Morocco, Italy, Canada, US, Mexico – 2016–Present
Email: support@catherinejust.com
