16 October – 4 November 2014
about the exhibition
This exhibition is the result of a six week Thomas Foundation Residency at the Canberra Glassworks this September.Holly says of this project, “’The Real and Imagined’ investigates the narrative between the Australian landscape and the romanticism of the sublime by blurring the boundaries between the two. Through photographic survey, patterns found in nature are directly transferred and etched onto hand blown glass surfaces. Further exploration and manipulation of these surfaces reinterpret the luminous canvas and blurs the boundaries between the reality of the photograph and the imagination of the maker.” The intention of this exhibition is not only to display finished artworks but alongside these works, show the stages of research and development that are an integral part of a residence experience. Holly’s artistic process can be tracked throughout the exhibition, with the ‘Study’ and ‘Sketch’ pieces showing the exploration of new techniques, particularly stone wheel engraving. The ‘Imagined landscape’ pieces were the last works Holly completed during her residency. She was able to combine the textures and techniques explored in the ‘Study’ and ‘Sketch’ works, as well as another new development for Holly, the layering of translucent colours. As the Australian landscape continues to inspire Holly, these works are afurther development of her emotional interpretation of the landscape; the stone wheel engraving is suggestive of the sky and clouds, while abstract elements remain in the sandblasted imagery.
Holly Grace completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Curtin University in Perth in 1996, then went on to further study glass at Monash University in Melbourne, completing her Masters in 2004. During this time, she also worked as studio assistant to renowned glassmakers in Australia, Denmark, Sweden and the UK. In 2010, Holly was a finalist in the Tom Malone Prize at the Art Gallery of Western Australia and received a Pilchuck Glass Scholarship. Her work is in collections including the National Gallery of Australia, Australian National Glass Collection (Wagga Wagga, NSW), Parliament House, Artbank, Art Gallery of Western Australia and the Glasmuseum (Ebeltoft, Denmark).