Rebecca Holland

Rebecca Holland

Exhibition: Jan 15 – Mar 15, 1998


For her installation at Artpace, Holland has responded to the essential qualities of The Hudson (Show)Room’s space: the soothing southern light filtered through original frosted casement windows and the horizontal plane of the reflective waxed concrete floor. A niche of the room has been bisected diagonally with a tilted wall of dental floss, strung like a harp. Entitled Downhill, this transparent, reclining wall separates the viewer from the space it defines. Light and air penetrate this subtle plane, inviting contemplation and resolve. Opposite Downhill, Holland has applied a thick coat of beeswax to a long wall for a piece called Snowfield I, contributing a sweet odor to the room. The surface is still, with drips, bubbles and rubs evident—a liquid becoming solid. The wall has a sheen that captures the southern light, reflecting it to and from the highly waxed concrete floors. A second wall (Snowfield II) is partially covered with wax, placed to absorb the afternoon western light. Holland’s considerate installation brings attention to the inherent qualities of the viewer’s location, where light, liquid, air and space transcend their chemical functions to become emotional and spiritual.

Artist

Rebecca Holland

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Born in Colorado Springs, CO in 1962, Rebecca Holland lives and works in San Antonio, TX. Holland holds an M.F.A. in ceramic sculpture from the University of Massachusetts, North Dartmouth and a B.A. in ceramics and painting from Bennington College in Vermont. She has been an artist-in-residence at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, NE and is currently an adjunct professor at San Antonio College.
Holland has exhibited her work throughout Texas, including one-person exhibitions in San Antonio at San Antonio College (1998): ArtPace (1998); Cactus Bra Gallery (1998); House Space (1997); and Milagros Contemporary Art (1996). Group exhibitions have taken place at Blue Star Art Space, San Antonio; The Arlington Museum of Art, TX; and the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art. James Gallery, Houston, TX represents her work.
Holland’s background as a sculptor and ceramicist inform her use of materials and approach to working with mass and volume. In recent years, she has been working almost exclusively with wax, creating minimalist paintings and objects. Concurrently, her investigations of space have resulted in poetic site-specific installations involving unexpected materials: a gallery space bisected by a screen of dental floss, an isolated, gilded stone in a house’s wall, yellow roses lining the crack between a wall and a floor in a dilapidated warehouse. Heightening architectural history, natural light and sense of smell, Holland’s spatial interventions transform mystery and discovery into matter.
Rebecca Holland was chosen for her ArtPace residency by the March 1998 panel consisting of Dan Cameron, Annette DiMeo Carlozzi, Amada Cruz, Kellie Jones, Hans-Ulrich Obrist and Nancy Rubins.

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