ARTIST’S STATEMENT
Hollister’s artistic influences growing up in the “mid-century” 1950s, 60s, and 70s derive from the fabulous futuristic designers of that era, the beat poets, cinematographers, photographers, painters, and sculptors. The direction of her work has evolved to include new processes that fully reflect her interest in architecture, sculpture, design, and the sensual nature of form, all of which tend to evoke a pleasurable response.
Art history takes on an essential role in her work, from Marimekko fabric designs to the exaggerated, sumptuous sculptural forms in her ceramics and glass castings - influenced by the photography of Edward Weston and Bill Brandt - to the organic and futuristic architecture of Friedensreich Hundertwasser and Eero Saarinen, to Swedish glass designers, and Japanese dress designers, all with the intent to raise thoughts about how the viewer relates to it, sparks a conversation in their mind and leads into interesting conversations with others.
ARTIST’S BIOGRAPHY
A native of the Chicago and New York City areas, Hollister (Holly) was introduced to art, history, and culture early in life, with personal influences including Hiroshi Yoshida woodblock prints, which her father collected during the Armistice of WWII, and the collected Swedish art glass and ceramics of her grandparents. An early love of Impressionism drew her into the history of the Western trade routes with Asia and the influence of Japanese art on Western European painting and printmaking. Living in Greece one summer brought the beauty of sculptural forms and architecture into sharp and memorable focus.
Holly studied fine arts at the California College of Arts and Crafts. She received her BA in Art History from Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York, and an MA in Education from California State University, Fresno. A painter by training, she worked by commission and taught art in public schools (K-12) until 2009. Holly then decided to challenge herself with classes in ceramics at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) with Dede Schmidt and visiting artist Courtney Mattison. She began learning about glass there as well, with Ali Rogan. Holly has been an active member of the Virginia Glass Guild since 2010. She continued her studies with Ali Rogan, visiting artists Milon Townsend, Paul Marioni, and Susan Taylor Glasgow, and glass fusing at Tidewater Community College. She has also had the opportunity to take classes at the Chrysler Museum Perry Glass Studio with visiting artists Stacy Lynn Smith, Heather Hartle, and Margo Thigpen. She has received several awards from prominent curators, artists, and gallery directors at the Virginia Glass Guild Annual Shows. Several notable glass collectors have also added her work to their collections. Holly works in her Virginia Beach home studio.
EDUCATION:
Single Subject Art K-12 and Multiple Subject K-8, MA and Teaching Credential, California State University Fresno, 2002
BA in Art History, Skidmore College, 1975, Saratoga Springs, NY
Fine Arts, California College of Arts and Crafts, 1971-1972 (now California College of the Arts), Oakland, CA
VISUAL ARTS TEACHING PROFESSION:
Art Teacher, Tallwood, Frank W. Cox, and Landstown High Schools, Virginia Beach City Public Schools, 2005-2009
Art Teacher, Department Chair, Wilson Middle School, Chowchilla, CA, 2002-2005
Art Education Program Coordinator, Temple Beth Israel, Fresno, CA, 1994-2000
Art Specialist and Visual Arts Coordinator, Forkner Elementary School, Fresno Unified School District, 1990-1992
AWARDS:
Virginia Glass Guild 35th Annual Juried Exhibition, 2024: Award of Excellence for “Japonisme Gets a 21st Century Look” - Juror: Carolyn Swan Needell, PhD, Carolyn and Richard Barry Curator of Glass, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA
Solo Exhibition”- “Confluence, Culture and Conversation,” Vestibule 102, Perry Glass Studio, Chrysler Museum of Art - December 2, 2019 - January 5, 2020
Virginia Glass Guild Members Exhibition, 2019 People's Choice Award for “Curiouser and Curiouser,” Slover Library, Norfolk, VA
Virginia Glass Guild 30th Annual Juried Exhibition, 2017: Second Place for "A Spectrum of Mindful Beings" - Juror: Dr. Jutta-Annette Page, Executive Director of the Barry Art Museum, Norfolk, VA
Virginia Glass Guild 28th Annual Juried Exhibition, 2015: Honorable Mention for "Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Installation View of Ellsworth Kelly: A Retrospective (1996-1997)" - Juror: Diane C. Wright, Curator of Glass, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA
Virginia Glass Guild 27th Annual Juried Exhibition, 2014: Honorable Mention, and People's Choice Award for "Hundertwasser Visits Whoville" - Juror: Michael Rogers, Professor, Glass Program, Rochester Institute Technology's School For American Crafts, Rochester, NY
COLLECTIONS:
Private Collection: Carl and Mary Johnson, Hartfield, VA
Private Collection: Richard and Carolyn Barry, Suffolk, VA
Private Collection: Douglas and Patricia Perry, Virginia Beach, VA
SHOWS:
Virginia Glass Guild Annual Juried Exhibition, d'Art Center, Norfolk, Virginia, 2021
Solo Exhibition”, “Confluence, Culture and Conversation,” Perry Glass Studio, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, December 2, 2019-January 5, 2020
Virginia Glass Guild Annual Juried Exhibition, Charles Taylor Center for the Visual Arts, Hampton, VA, 2009-2024
Virginia Glass Guild Members Show, Slover Library, Norfolk, VA, 2017-2020, 2023, 2024
GAS - Virginia Glass Guild Show, Slover Library, Norfolk, VA 2017
GAS”- "Embracing Narrative: Artwork of the Washington Glass School and Virginia Glass Guild, Portsmouth Arts & Cultural Center, Portsmouth, VA - Jurors: Diane Wright, Carolyn and Richard Barry Curator of Glass, Chrysler Museum, and Sheila Giolitti, owner of Mayer Fine Art Gallery - 2017
Virginia Glass Guild Show, Williamsburg Historic Garden Week, April 2016
A Year in Review: Works from the MOCA Adult Studio School, 2009-2019
Hampton Arts League Open Members Exhibition, Hampton, VA, 2012-2018
Williamsburg Arts Month, Williamsburg, VA 2012
Gallery at Cristallo Art Center, Newport News, VA, 2011-20”7
"Reflections in Glass," Peninsula Glass Guild Show, 2011
STUDIES:
Advanced Ceramics with Dede Schmidt, Virginia Art Center, 2023-present
“Intaglio Engraving, with Margot Jacobs Thigpen, Visual Arts Center of Richmond, 2022 and 2023
Online courses with Alicia Lomne, Tim Carey, Richard Whitely, Ted Sawyer, Michael Endo, and Kim Brill
“Engraving Imagery and Adornment” with Heather Hartle and Margot Jacobs Thigpen, Perry Glass Studio, Chrysler Museum of Art, 2019
Powder Printing, with Staci Lynn Smith, Perry Glass Studio, Chrysler Museum of Art, 2018
“It's Not A Chandelier, It’s a Lighted Sculpture” with Susan Taylor Glasgow, 2017
Ceramics Master Class with Courtney Mattison, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), 2016
FXII-Color Casting Magic with Milon Townsend, 2013 Glass Craft and Bead Expo, Las Vegas, NV
The Art of Fusing in Depth with Lisa Richardson-Bach, 2013 Glass Craft and Bead Expo, Las Vegas, NV
Encaustics Workshop with Karen Eid, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), 2013
Hot Casting and Mold Making, Master Class with Paul Marioni, Perry Glass Studio, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, 2012
Glass Fusing and Casting with Ali Rogan, Cristallo Artisans, 2011; and MOCA, 2009-2012
Glass Fusing, Tidewater Community College, Portsmouth, VA - Elizabeth Netts
Mold Making Master Class - Glass Casting with Milon Townsend, 2010
Ceramics III and IV with Dede Schmidt, Virginia MOCA, 2009-2020
Monotypes with Michelle Barnes, Virginia MOCA, 2009
ACTIVITY IN THE ARTS:
Member, Masterpiece Society, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA
The Ceramics Congress 2020 - present
Member, Glass Art Society (GAS) 2017 - present - Participant, 2017 International Conference, Norfolk, VA
Virginia Glass Guild Board Member: Recording Secretary, 2010-2016
Ceramics Studio Assistant, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), 2010
Member, Potters Council