Holly Josey draws from the landscape in her abstract painting practice - organic forms in an urban life. She works from mystical memories of her childhood in Northern Wisconsin where much of the untouched land doesn’t exist anymore.  In her studio practice, work begins and ends outside with canvases in the landscape where cast shadows become abstracted shapes in unexpected ways. Surprisingly, moonlight can be as dramatic as sunlight in assisting the process of making. Eclipses have made their way into paintings as well.

Collaborations drive the core of Josey’s practice.  The series, Wind Drawings, are a new exploration which integrates winds and trees as the artistic hands to draw and paint the foundations of the works. Intuition reigns. Tempestuous Gulf Coast weather plays a key role in providing movement and gestures amid tree canopies, which become a unique language written into, and upon, each composition. 

Discoveries that drive her work today:

• Unruly elements of chance

• Process-based explorations within a system

• Distillation vs. Accumulation

• Recording. Materials. Gestures. Motion. Transparency.

Holly is alumni of the Block program XXIII and XXIV and holds a Certificate of Achievement in Art History, both programs from Glassel School of Art at Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.

She lives and works in Houston, Texas.

Artist CV