theholly

.org

Artist. Designer. Instructor.

Artist Biography

Holly McCabe is a multimedia artist and educator currently residing in Rhinebeck, New York. She graduated with a BA in Art History and Studio Art from Gettysburg College in 1999, a BFA in Fine Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2000, an MA in Painting from SUNY New Paltz in 2005, and an MFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2016. Holly worked as a secondary education art teacher from 2002-2013, and is currently a full time Associate Professor of Visual Arts at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, New York, specializing in 2D design, graphic design, drawing, fashion illustration, animation, web design, and motion graphics. Though her personal work initially focused on portraiture, Holly's recent collections feature fiber arts, textiles, and sweeping soft sculpture installation spaces.

Artist Statement

With a strong focus on material crossovers, combinations, and transformations, I instill comfort, nostalgia, nature, and memory as I literally and figuratively peel, tear, sew, stretch, and shield various formal abstract elements. It is at times delicate. It is at times heavy. It is raw. It is tactile. It manifests as line-based compositions, sculptural relief, series-based installations, and objects in space. I flirt with texturally rich, visceral, strange, yet familiar surfaces. These things beg to be touched. Beg to be loved. But also invoke a need to recoil and retreat. It is this strange yet balanced dichotomy that I find fascinating. Self-preservation. Self-destruction. And here I remain, hovering comfortably amid their respective orbits.

Artist Portfolio

Selected works, grouped chronologically.

Thread and Thrum, 2020

A new collection of soft sculptures featured in a solo show at The Art Gallery, Marist College, Poughkeepsie New York.

Materials
interior design fabric samples, interlock thread, polyester fiber fill, canvas stretcher bars.

Installations, 2015-2016

A collection of sewn sculptural work featured in a solo show at the Mildred I. Washington Art Gallery, Dutchess Community College, Poughkeepsie New York.

Materials
fleece, stretch fabric (cotton, polyester, nylon blends), interlock thread, cotton batting, fabric scraps, wire armature.

Fabric Soft Sculptures, 2014-2015

Sewing and cloth fabrication experiments at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston.

Materials
fleece, stretch fabric (cotton, polyester, nylon, faux leather, vinyl blends), handmade paper, interlock thread, cotton batting, wire armature.

Fiberscapes, 2014-2015

Fabric and interlock stitch on stretched canvas constructions at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston.

Materials
fabric (cotton, polyester, nylon, wool, faux fur blends), interlock thread, canvas stretcher bars.

Encaustic Experiments, 2014-2015

Encaustic wax, pigment, and fabric on stretched canvas explorations at R+F Paints in Kingston New York.

Materials
encaustic wax, pigment, fabric (cotton, polyester, nylon blends), stretch canvas.

Digital Paintings, 2012-2014

Self-portraits and color explorations through a digital lens.

Materials
artrage studio pro, tablet computer.

Contact

Get in touch if you wish to see more pieces, commission work, or just say hello!