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Harry Holland (UK 1941)
Harry Holland has established himself as a leading influencer by reintroducing the basic academic visual language in contemporary painting. He incorporates motifs such as mythology and pathos to imbue his work with an enigmatic timelessness. The story-telling nature of his work makes this narrative art personal to the observer. The paintings explore universal truths that are often difficult to articulate, yet resonant to the human experience.
Harry Holland was born in Glasgow in 1941 and trained at St. Martin’s School of Art between 1965 and 1969. Lives and Works in Cardiff UK.
Work Catalog
Harry Holland was the most successful painter in our gallery. (Mineta Move 1977-2015) - Using classic painting techniques with life models was not evident in the 1970s. Some collectors are impressed by the quality of his work, others realize that his work also translates the uncertainty of human relations, symbolic interactions with objects and moral values. In his later works a new category emerges with a fantastic sense of humor. Through historical imagery, such as 'Fallin Angels' or 'Life Boats', representing a romantic escape from human desaster. The sheer volume of works make a comprehensive overview difficult. Consequently a decision was made in 2015 to compile a 'catalog raisonné'. Harry Holland's work are never dated, and some are reworked after being exhibited. Studies 'A la Prima' are used as a basic tool to realize his works. Some stayed independent and are included in the catalog. All information is welcome. Certificates can be delivered.
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Camera and Statue, 2001, oil on panel, 33 x 45 cm. Exhibited Mineta Fine Art, Brussels 2001, cat p 15 – Work Cat Ref HH 00-17 Mineta Collection Ref 313.
Stil-live is present in the artist’s early works until today. He combines found objects, building hidden relationships. The same objects often reappear in his figurative works to give them the artist famous suggestive meaning.
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Bedroom, 1984, oil on canvas, 152 x 170 cm. Exhibited Mineta Fine Art, Harry Holland, 1985, reproduced exhibition catalogue p. 7 Work Cat. Ref. HH 84-29 Mineta Collection Ref. 039
The style used by Harry Holland evolves over time from ‘sfumato’ in the eighties to a more realistic one to the end of the century. The basic however is his working from life models that results in a continuous series of nude portraits (Models). He paints man and woman, from our multicultural society in a radiant nudity that enforces their personality with inner mystery.