Holland Cunningham

Holland Cunningham is interested in taking the mementos of others found in the print details of photographs and creating new associations through her own ideas and imagination. The individual works Cunningham makes are fragments of a narrative that she continues to change and develop as she adds new pieces. In essence, she intends to create a new story formed from the lives and moments of others. Cunningham is a spectator as well as the protagonist and player in the scene or moment captured.

Originating from Roanoke, Virginia, in 1967 and educated at the University of Virginia, Holland Cunningham has established a distinctive presence in the art world with her diverse approach, merging oil, water-based media, photography, and animation. Her academic journey extended through the Art Students League and National Academy of Art and Design, and she's been recognized with significant residencies, including the Bau Institute in Italy and an upcoming fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. Cunningham's artworks, particularly her mixed media/oil paintings and installations, are inspired by found photography, which she interprets as evolving narratives rather than static moments. As both observer and protagonist, she captures the dynamic essence of life's continuous flow. Currently based in NYC, her work is a testament to the ever-changing landscape of contemporary art.

Artist’s Statement

I am an American artist who makes work using various materials, employing oil, water-based media, photography as well as animation. My most recent work is an assortment of mixed media/oil paintings in which I use found photography—print details of the memories of others—as a starting point.

I am an avid collector of discarded photography and slides that I see not as mere images frozen in time, but as something that is still happening. I do not limit myself to simply looking at the information but rather thinking of the individuals or scenes as they actually are. I am not only the spectator but also the protagonist or a player in the scene or moment captured. I aim to take the banality of the photograph or slide and through my own ideas and imagination create new associations.

The individual works I make are really fragments of a narrative that I continue to change and develop as I add new pieces. New relations are made in this constant dialectical play. Each original form is subject to perpetual change giving new structure to the point from which I started. In essence I intend to create a new story formed from the lives of others.

Exhibitions

2022
"COME CLOSER", Solo Exhibition, Voltz Clarke Gallery, New York, NY

Featured on Platform, November 30th, 2022

2021
"In Her World" Group Show, Voltz Clarke Gallery, New York, NY

2020-2021
“Body Language", Voltz Clarke Gallery, New York, NY

2020
Start Somewhere, Voltz Clarke Gallery X Penske Projects, New York, NY

2019
“Art on Paper", Quogue Gallery, New York, NY
"Little Pink Houses" Installation, New York School of the Arts, New York, NY

2018
"A Sweet Day of November" Group Show and Open Studio, New York School of the Arts, New York, NY
"49 Things" Solo Show, Church of the Heavenly Rest Gallery, New York, NY
"Quogue in Common" Solo Show, Quogue Gallery (barn), Quogue, NY
“Summer Exhibition- Grayson Perry Curates" Group Show, Royal Academy of Art, London, England
"Anonyme Zeichner", Galerie Nord/Kunstverein Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

2017
“Spectrum”, Carriage Barn Art Center, New Canaan, CT
Veronica Beard, Soho, featured artist, New York NY

2016
Chrystie Project, Voltz Clarke Gallery, New York, NY
“Creative Mischief” and “Swimmers,” National Academy of Art, New York, NY
“Light Leaks,” Institute of Fine Arts, New York, NY
Veronica Beard, Featured Artist, ongoing, New York, NY

2015
“Chrystie Paintings,” solo show, Quogue Gallery, Quogue, NY
"Art Southampton," Quogue Gallery, Southampton, NY
"Friends Seminary," group show, David Zwirner Gallery New york, NY

2014
“Small Works!” Carriage Barn Art Center, New Canaan, CT
Installation, Quogue Art Gallery, Quogue, NY
"Art Southampton," Voltz Clarke Gallery, Southampton, NY
“Creative Mischief,” National Academy Museum and School, New York, NY
Nierman Weeks Showroom curated by Amanda Nisbet Design, New York, NY
96 Forest gallery and Art Walk, Locust Valley, NY

2013
Art Aqua, Miami (Art Basel), LOOCArt Gallery, December , 2013
“The Relativity of Distance…and Some of its Consequences” Sonia Getchoff Gallery, New York, (October)
Oriet Fine Art, group show, Washington, DC (October)
Group Show, Fralin Museum of Art, Charlottesville, Virginia (October-November)
Quogue Art Gallery, Quogue, NY (July) solo show
“Anonyme Zeichner”, Galerie Nord/Kunstverein Tiergarten, Berlin (April) Leipzig (June)
“The Collective Image”, Quirk Gallery, Richmond, VA (March/April) solo show

2012
“The Psycology of the Portrait” Sonia Getchoff Gallery, New York, NY
The National Association of Women Artists, New York, NY
“Arts and Arts”, Fortezzo da basso, Florence, Italy
LK Home, Group show, Quogue, New York
Bau Institute Residency and exhibit, Otranto, Italy (June)
Special Project Show (animation installation), National Academy Museum and School, May
Blair Voltz Clarke Art Consulting- Group show – Armory Show special event, (March)
“The Photo Gesture”, National Academy of Art (March/April)
Oriet Fine Art, Baltimore, MD (April)

2011
SMI Art Gallery, Greenwich, CT (2009-present)
National Academy of Art- September
Virginia Center for Creative Arts (VCCA) - show and auction
Blair Voltz Clarke Art Consulting- 2 group shows, Manhattan House
Site 110 – “Subtitled” Group show curated by Maurizio Pellegrin

2010
Studio School- Group show and Auction
Colony Club- “By Our Own Hands” Group show and publication
Quogue Historical Society- Summer Art show and sale

2009
National Arts Club- SOLO Show, Gregg Gallery
The Chapin School- featured artist
Quogue Historical Society- Summer Art show and sale

2008
Quogue Art Gallery- SOLO show

2003 – 2008
National Academy- various student shows
Jones, Clark, and Company, Group show

1992 – 1997
The Art Students League- group shows

1989
Bayly Art Museum, Charlottesville, Virginia, Group show

Selected Collections

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
St David’s School, New York, NY
The Colony Club, New York, NY
National Academy, New York, NY
Lee Findlay Potter, New York, NY
Evelyn and David Lasry, Two Palms Press, New York, NY
Indagare Inc, New York, NY
The Renaissance School, Charlottesville, VA
Amanda Nisbet Design, New York, NY
Advance Auto Corporation, Roanoke, VA
Mr. and Mrs. Allistair Maxwell, London, England
Chiara and Massimo Ferragamo, New York and Florence, Italy
Princess Ghida and Prince Talal of Jordan, Amman Jordan
Grey McElveen Walker, Charlotte, NY
Angele Parlange, New York and New Orleans, LA
Francesca and Nicholas Tingley, London, England
Jerome and Betty Villalba, Paris, France
Julie and Tommy Frist, Nashville, TN
Keith Langham, New York, NY
Elizabeth and William Porteous, New York, NY
Lisa Beattie Frelinghuysen, New York, NY
Lee and Michael Profenius, New York and Quogue, NY
Kathryn and Bill Tyree, New York, NY and Locust Valley, NY
Jeff Mermelstein, International Center of Photography, New York, NY
Joey Schlank, art consultant, New York and Greenwich, CT
Luly and Philip Wahl, London, England