Holly Farrell

Holly Farrell (born 6 December 1961) is a Canadian painter who has been painting since 1995.

Holly Farrell
Born
Holly Susan Farrell

December 6, 1961
North Bay, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
EducationSelf-taught Artist
Known forPainting
StyleStill Life, Landscape, Portraiture
Websitewww.hollyfarrell.com

Nostalgia drives her subject matter, Still Life being her main focus. Farrell considers her Still Life paintings to be simple meditations on people and places she has known - there is a sense of the portrait in everything that she paints. Farrell's subjects are the common, everyday tools of our day to day existence - things that many of us are able to project our own experiences onto.

Farrell says:

"Homely is how I would describe most of my subjects. It’s how I feel when I look at my paintings, whether I am connecting to something, someone, or some time.  A clear line is drawn to people who are closest to me. My cookbook series is an homage to my mother…memories of her baking pies, roasting roasts – memories of her standing behind the counter of our family diner, lipstick on cigarettes and coffee cups.  Chairs, bowls, clocks…other domestic tools…functional things that now hold special meaning, allowing us to reach back for a moment and maybe experience a bit of the past." Holly Farrell - 2017[1].

Farrell's work has been exhibited in Canada, the U.S., England, and Japan. Her paintings are in corporate and private collections throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Japan including: BMO, Canada; William Louis-Dreyfus Family Collection (Gérard Louis-Dreyfus),[2] U.S.A., Sony Music,[3] Japan, TD Bank Group, and OPAM (Oita Prefectural Museum of Art), Japan.

She lives with her husband and three cats in Toronto, Ontario.

Painting

Farrell began to paint at 30. She exhibited her first paintings at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition in 1992. Between 1992 and 2000 she focussed on honing her drawing and painting skills, while building a following in Toronto. By 2005 Farrell had gained attention by such publications as Toronto Life, The Toronto Star, and the Globe And Mail. The Star's Peter Goddard had this to say about Farrell's 2003 show:

"Yet her works share with his (Morandi's) sense of discovery, as if you've never seen what you're seeing as quite as memorable as they now seem. It's as if the artists added something unseen to their mass. Gravity's pull on them feels much greater than it should be. Like Morandi's, Farrell's work denies any critical attempt to mine them for symbolic content. If they're about childhood, no analysts allowed. Same too, with the objects she uses - or the objects she comes upon. Her paintings act as spies, seemingly catching their subject unprepared.

- Peter Goddard, 2003.[4]

With the advent of the internet Farrell expanded her reach to connect with galleries and clients in the U.S. She participated in Folk Fest Art Fair in Atlanta Georgia where she connected with Karen Light, owner of Garde Rail Gallery.[5] Light exhibited Farrell's work in shows at Garde Rail Gallery in Seattle, garnering reviews from the Seattle Post Intelligencer as well as Seattle Weekly. Light was also instrumental in introducing Farrell's paintings to the New York Outsider Art Fair.[6][7]

Painting of Chair, by Holly Farrell. 2003.

Not always comfortable with the label of 'outsider', Farrell prefers 'self-taught' or naive art. Her technique she learned through trial and error - culled from years of practise - employing both acrylics and oils, and always trusting to instinct. Farrell says she is not always certain why she paints what she paints. Sometimes the connection to a subject seems a vague shadow...but knows at the end of painting, she will have found the reason.

In 2016 Farrell was interviewed for an article on self-taught artists by Danielle Bravado of Art Brut online magazine. She was asked how she felt about being an 'outsider artist'. She responded by explaining: "In my mind, the outsider artist starts out creating with no or few skills or tools and somehow finds a way to pull something together, a way to express how they feel - it's like suddenly you can speak. I feel that way when I work. There wasn't much of a dialogue in my life before I began to paint. I was floundering. Traditionally trained artists, in my mind, start out with a bigger skill set. The real education, self-taught, outsider, traditional, or otherwise, comes in the making of art. I think that formally trained artists have a better sense of intention...they go into art school because they want to be artists, they have some kind of expectation, confidence."

Though Farrell primarily focusses on Still Life, she has also occasionally delved into the realms of Portraiture and Landscape painting.

Notable exhibitions

March 2019, "Nothing Begins Today", Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto November, 2018, “Random Harvest”, Clark Gallery, Lincoln[8]

February 2017, "Homely”, Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto[9]

July 2016, “Doll And Book Paintings”, Megumi Ogita Gallery, Tokyo[10]

October 2015,“Books”, Clark Gallery, Lincoln[11]

February 2014, “Clowns”, Packer Schopf Gallery, Chicago[12]

September 2013, “New Paintings”, Clark Gallery, Lincoln[13]

March 2012, “Book Shop”, Megumi Ogita Gallery, Tokyo[14]

December 2010, “Tammy”, Megumi Ogita Gallery, Tokyo[15]

June 2010, “Even Closer”, Katharine Mulherin Gallery, Toronto[16]

December 2009, “New Paintings”, Chase Gallery, Boston[17]

March 2009, “Home and Sea”, Megumi Ogita Gallery, Tokyo[18]

January 2009, “New Paintings”, Winsor Gallery, Vancouver

February 2008, “New Paintings” Katharine Mulherin Gallery, Toronto[19]

September 2007, “New Paintings”, Clark Gallery, Lincoln[20]

April 2007, “New Paintings” Garde Rail Gallery, Seattle[21]

Articles, interviews, and reviews

White Hot Magazine, ART TORONTO versus ARTBO, October 2018[22]

Art Collector's Magazine (Japan), August 2016

Vogue, Japan, July 2016

Brut Force, Expressively Inspired: The Desire To Create For Two Self-taught Artists, June 2016[23]

Savant Garde, May 2015

Life As A Human, February 2015[24]

Examiner, Artist Holly Farrell, article on book paintings, December 2014

Lincoln Journal, September 2014

Culture Catch, “Pushing Against the Boundaries”, May 2014

art ltd., (review), May 2014

Frankie Magazine, “Throwback Thursday”, March 2014[25]

Examiner, “Toronto Artist Sends In The Clowns” (interview), February 2014

Chicago Tonight, “The Jokers Are Wild”, February 2014[26]

Creative Block, Danielle Krysa, (artist profile), February 2014[27][28]

Zinc, December 2013

Daily Beast, “Outsider Art Fair: 10 Artists To Buy Now”, February 2013[29][30]

Arts Observer, “Outsider Art Fair”, January 2013[31][32]

Tokyo Art Beat, (review), March 2012

Home Build Life Design, February 2012

Arts Observer, “Outside Art Fair”, January 2012[33]

Eyes Toward The Dove, “Outsider Art Fair”, January 2012

Design Sponge, December 2010[34]

The Daily Yomiuri, “Another Face For Tammy” (review), November 2010

Magenta Magazine, “Holly Farrell Even Closer” (review), Fall 2010[35]

Blog TO, “Even Closer” (review), July 2010[36]

Huffington Post, “Inside The Outsider Art Fair”, February 2010[37]

New York Times, “OAF: A Survey of a Field Hard to Define”, February 2010

Boston Herald, Holly Farrell at Chase Gallery, December 2009

Art In America, (review), March 2009[38]

The Boston Globe, “We Direct Your Attention”, February 2009

NOW Magazine, March 2008

The Globe and Mail, February 2008

Seattle Post Intelligencer, Regina Hackett, 2007

Enroute Magazine, July 2007

Seattle Weekly, (review), April 2007

Seattle Magazine, Editor's Picks, May 2006

Toronto Star, “Still Life With Meditation” (review), December 2003

BRAVO! TV, “The Artist’s Life” (artist profile), November 2003

The Globe & Mail, “Art Al Fresco: Up Close & Personal”, (artist profile), July 2000

Century Home Magazine, (artist profile), May 2000

Lola Magazine, Shotgun Reviews, (review), Summer 1999[39]

Canadian Living Magazine, “Easy Painting”, June 1998

Toronto Life, (review), May 1998[40]

gollark: For a while after I got AE2 I had an extremely janky system using storage crates and a nested storage bus system to allow me to access all my storage through both.
gollark: Surprisingly good, especially with the infinite-range remote, but the UI is kind of terrible.
gollark: I lived on a storage scanner for several days.
gollark: On silk mode, mind you.
gollark: The glowstone one might work but I never got round to finding a planet with it.

References
  1. "Mira Godard Gallery Artists: Holly Farrell". www.godardgallery.com. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  2. "WLD Foundation". www.wldfoundation.org. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  3. "Holly Farrell". Godard Gallery. Godard Gallery. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  4. "thestar.com | The Star | Canada's largest daily". thestar.com. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  5. "Garde Rail Gallery". Garde Rail Gallery. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  6. "Outsider Art Fair 2013: Everyday Objects by Holly Farrell". Arts Observer. 2013-02-07. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  7. Jacobsohn, Andy (2013-02-04). "Outsider Art Fair: 10 Artists to Buy Now (PHOTOS)". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  8. "Clark Gallery". www.clarkgallery.com. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  9. "Mira Godard Gallery". www.godardgallery.com. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  10. "MEGUMI OGITA GALLERY". Megumi Ogita Gallery (in Japanese). Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  11. "Clark Gallery". www.clarkgallery.com. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  12. "Aron Packer Projects". packergallery.com. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  13. "Clark Gallery". www.clarkgallery.com. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  14. "MEGUMI OGITA GALLERY". Megumi Ogita Gallery (in Japanese). Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  15. "MEGUMI OGITA GALLERY". Megumi Ogita Gallery (in Japanese). Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  16. "HOME". katharinemulherin.com. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  17. "Chase Young Gallery". Chase Young Gallery. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  18. "MEGUMI OGITA GALLERY". Megumi Ogita Gallery (in Japanese). Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  19. "HOME". katharinemulherin.com. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  20. "Clark Gallery". www.clarkgallery.com. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  21. "Garde Rail Gallery". Garde Rail Gallery. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  22. "ART TORONTO versus ARTBO". Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  23. "Expressively Inspired: The Desire to Create for Two Self-Taught Artists | Brut Force". Brut Force. 2016-06-21. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
  24. "Painting Books to Honour the Past". LIFE AS A HUMAN. 2015-02-18. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  25. "throwback thursday - holly farrell". Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  26. "The Jokers Are Wild". WTTW News. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  27. Inc., Indigo Books & Music. "Creative Block: Get Unstuck, Discover New Ideas. Advice & Projects from 50 Successful Artists, Book by Danielle Krysa (Paperback) | chapters.indigo.ca". www.chapters.indigo.ca. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  28. "The Jealous Curator /// curated contemporary art /// creative block". www.thejealouscurator.com. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  29. Jacobsohn, Andy (2013-02-04). "Outsider Art Fair: 10 Artists to Buy Now (PHOTOS)". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  30. Weissmann, Gerald (Feb 2011). "Wiki-Science and Moliere's Beast". The FASEB Journal. 25 (2): 435–438. doi:10.1096/fj.11-0201ufm. ISSN 0892-6638. PMID 21282209.
  31. "Outsider Art Fair 2013: Everyday Objects by Holly Farrell". Arts Observer. 2013-02-07. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  32. "Outsider Art Fair 2013: Compelling Works Found in Pairs". Arts Observer. 2013-02-20. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  33. "Holly Farrell Describes Her Charming Still Lifes as Portraits Without People". Arts Observer. 2012-01-28. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  34. "what's in your toolbox: holly farrell – Design*Sponge". www.designsponge.com. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  35. "Holly Farrell: Even Closer | Magenta Magazine". mag.magentafoundation.org. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  36. "Art Agenda: Friends With You, Samonie Toonoo and Ed Pien, Holly Farrell, William Eakin, and Kate Tarini". blogTO. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  37. Howard, Sebastian (2010-04-15). "Inside the Outsider Art Fair". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  38. "Home - Art in America". Art in America. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  39. "Holly Farrell". www.hollyfarrell.com. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  40. "Holly Farrell". www.hollyfarrell.com. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
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