ART021 | Nan Ke Booth W01 Highlighted Works | Holden Willard

 

 

 

 

117h x 97w cm

© Courtesy of the artist and EDJI Gallery

  

Nanke Gallery is pleased to announce the presentation of five highlighted paintings by young American artist Holden Willard at booth W01 of the ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair. This marks the debut of Holden's work in the Chinese art market, with his vibrant use of colour and precise capture of expressions leaving a memorable impression.

 

 

 

Holden Willard at his studio © Courtesy of the artist and EDJI Gallery

 

Holden considers the ebb and flow that comes with every medium’s process, determining the best way to push his understanding of it. When he approaches a piece, he is mainly looking to understand and re-evaluate choices. The work is always in flux with no particular attention to certain parts, rather – an awareness placed upon the whole picture. Ultimately, the goal is to create an honest response to whatever he is reacting to.

 

Holden always sits down to paint with an intention for the image he’s going to create. That doesn’t mean that he’s planned out every aspect of a painting; he’ll often play around with symbols or implements that he adds and erases with a rag, evaluating them in an effort to see what sticks. The result is much more harmonious and felt, where the viewer is able to see the artist's mind at work.

 

 

 

75h x 55w cm

© Courtesy of the artist and EDJI Gallery

  

None of Holden’s paintings are direct portraits because none are actual representations of the subject; they are bent and twisted through colour and Holden’s drawing so that they transform into something else. In his work, Holden is looking to capture a feeling of how we interpret memory in our dreams and his paintings are narratives about experiences like coming of age or longing and loss.

 

He tells these stories through colour. He understands that in portraiture focus on the figure is inescapable, so he achieves a level picture plane by putting colour down and then drawing figure(s) over it so that colour is not restricted by form. The painting "Flowers for Quinn" is an example of this, blending the human figure with the forms around them. In the painting, A masculine character leans on the sofa, gazing seriously at the viewer, lays across a couch. Both objects are painted in purple and bright red and contrasted with aqua and cobalt and yellows. “A lot of my work is about placing the figures and making them a part of their environments instead of them being a separate part. For him, painting is about the emotions you feel as a result of seeing the colours interact with each other. He went to art school painting intuitively and now that he’s studied painting he has the understanding of how color fits into that structure he sought.

 

 

 

60h x 60w cm

© Courtesy of the artist and EDJI Gallery

 

In his approach to figures, objects, or the spaces they inhabit, Holden gives each the same respect and attention. He considers how light translates into colour, attempting to convey the warmth a body emits, particularly how this colour blends into the surrounding space and expresses certain qualities of the subject. This form of expression is directly related to his interest in portraying dreamlike scenes on canvas. Colour is separated by line, as drawing is intrinsic to painting—a process that involves a lot of sketching and erasing. Ultimately, his goal is to create an honest response to the subject he is reacting to.

 

Holden is primarily focused on creating a dialogue between the past, present, and future, whether through the lens of family, friends, or the environment. In his view, these are essential elements he uses to construct a coming-of-age narrative in Maine. Images from home, adventures of youth, fears, and anxieties expressed through gaze and posture—all of these contribute to expressing what is left unsaid.