Loie Hollowell

Loie Hollowell’s evocative and vibrant canvases explore themes of sexuality, femininity and the human body. Born in 1983 in Woodland, California, Hollowell pursued her passion for art from an early age. She earned her BFA from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and later, her MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.

Hollowell draws upon her own personal experiences as much as the history of art and metaphysical structures. Her body of work stems from her own pregnancies and her interest in the convergence of ethereal and earthly realms. Often combining references to landscape and anatomy, her work retains allusions to the magical glow of light on the West Coast where she grew up.

Hollowell’s work is filled with saturated colours, organic shapes and textured surfaces. Her paintings deliver a nuanced and powerful take on the place of womanhood in the sphere of abstract art, featuring geometric forms that allude to the female body and reproductive organs. ‘Colour and light are always the driving factors in my work,’ she said. ‘And my body is the conceptual length that brings the viewer in and keeps me engaged.’

Artists like Judy Chicago, Salvador Dalí, Georgia O’Keeffe serve as important antecedents to Hollowell’s visual language as her revolutionary mixture of natural and feminine imagery set the stage for a new exploration of the body. To the mix Hollowell also adds references to Neo-Tantric art and the Light and Space movement as she fuses these abstracted forms with an inner brilliance drawn from her expert juxtaposition of vibrant hues.

One of the defining characteristics of Hollowell's work is her use of symmetry and balance. Her paintings frequently incorporate central, radiating forms that create a sense of harmony and order. These compositions are enhanced by her skillful use of color gradients and textured surfaces, which add depth and dimension to her work. Hollowell’s technique involves building up layers of oil paint and using molding paste to create raised, tactile elements on the canvas, giving her paintings a sculptural quality.

Hollowell’s works have garnered international appeal. In 2021 her 2018 painting Lick Lick sold for HK$14,650,000 at Christie’s Hong Kong. She has exhibited in New York, London, Amsterdam, Shanghai, Brussels and Los Angeles. Her works belong in the collections of the Long Museum in Shanghai, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami and more.