About the Artist

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 irresistible, and continue to explore to this day. Self-preservation. Self-destruction. And here I remain, hovering comfortably amid their respective orbits.

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 Professor of Visual Arts and Art Program Chair at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, New York, specializing in 2D design, graphic design, drawing, fashion illustration, photography, 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 CV

Education
  • MFA -- 2014-2016, Boston Low Residency – Massachusetts College of Art and Design; Boston, Massachusetts
  • MA -- 2004-2005, Painting – State University of New York at New Paltz; New Paltz, New York
  • NYS K-12 Teacher Certification in Art Education -- 2000-2001, State University of New York at New Paltz; New Paltz, New York
  • BFA -- 1999-2000, Fine Art - School of the Art Institute of Chicago; Chicago, Illinois
  • BA -- 1995-1999, Art History and Studio Art - Gettysburg College; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Solo Exhibitions
  • 2025 – Featured Works at Canvas and Clothier (with "Poughkeepsie Open Studios”); Poughkeepsie, NY
  • 2025 – Solo Exhibition at Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory Cafe, Poughkeepsie, NY
  • 2022 – Solo Exhibition at Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory Cafe (with “Poughkeepsie Open Studios”); Poughkeepsie, NY
  • 2020 – “Thread and Thrum,” The Art Gallery, Marist College; Poughkeepsie, NY
  • 2016 – “Uncanny,” The Derryfield School; Manchester, NH
  • 2016 – “Hanging by a Thread,” Mildred I. Washington Gallery, Dutchess Community College; Poughkeepsie, NY
  • 2014 – “Self Image,” The Art Riot; Kingston, NY
  • 2012 – “Steampunk Pastel Drawings by Holly McCabe,” Commission for Foggy Cogs Computer Solutions; New Paltz, NY
  • 2007 – “Buffy and Friends,” Rosendale Cafe; Rosendale, NY
  • 2006 – “The Self, Revisited,” Artemis Boutique; Kingston, NY
  • 2005 – “MA Graduate Exhibition, Holly McCabe,” Purple Lounge, State University of New York at New Paltz; New Paltz, NY
Group Exhibitions
  • 2025 – Visual Arts Faculty Exhibition, Mildred I. Washington Gallery, Dutchess Community College; Poughkeepsie, NY
  • 2025 – Annual NYSATA Members Show, Bethany Arts Community; Ossining, NY
  • 2023 – Visual Arts Faculty Exhibition, Mildred I. Washington Gallery, Dutchess Community College; Poughkeepsie, NY
  • 2021 – “Transitions,” Annual NYSATA Members Show, Bethany Arts Community; Ossining, NY
  • 2020 – “Art in the Time of Covid,” Annual NYSATA Members Show, Bethany Arts Community; Ossining, NY
  • 2019 – “White,” Emerge Art Gallery; Saugerties, NY
  • 2019 – “October Installation Art Experience,” Varga Gallery; Phoenicia, NY
  • 2019 – “Portals,” Queen City 15; Poughkeepsie, NY
  • 2019 – “Fantastic Fibers,” Artbar; Kingston, NY
  • 2019 – “Celebrating Color,” womenswork.art; Poughkeepsie, NY
  • 2019 – NYSATA members show, Unison Arts Gallery; New Paltz, NY
  • 2018 – Visual Arts Faculty Exhibition, Mildred I. Washington Gallery, Dutchess Community College; Poughkeepsie, NY
  • 2018 – Arts Mid-Hudson Pop-Up Members Exhibition at the Trolley Barn; Poughkeepsie NY
  • 2018 – “Ink and Stitch,” at Mildred I. Washington Gallery, Dutchess Community College; Poughkeepsie, NY
  • 2016 – Visual Arts Faculty Exhibition, Mildred I. Washington Gallery, Dutchess Community College; Poughkeepsie, NY
  • 2016 – Summer MFA Thesis Exhibition, Bakalar and Paine Galleries, Massachusetts College of Art and Design; Boston, MA
  • 2016 – Sculpture Show at Art Society of Kingston; Kingston, New York
  • 2015 – Group Show at Hifi Bar; New York City, NY
  • 2015 – “Dissolving and Emerging,” featuring four local New Paltz artists at Bacchus; New Paltz, NY
  • 2013-2015 – Clotheorie Clothing Designs on sale at Surviving Sisters Boutique; Hyde Park, NY
  • 2013 – Clotheorie Clothing Designs featured at the "Nautical" Art and Fashion Show, Cornell Street Studios; Kingston, NY
  • 2011-2013 – Clotheorie Clothing Designs on sale at The Art Riot; Kingston, NY
  • 2008-2013 – Various Group Exhibitions, Cornell Street Studios; Kingston, NY
  • 2007 – Various Group Exhibitions, Varga Gallery; Woodstock, NY
  • 2007 – 75th Anniversary Alumni Exhibition, Schmucker Art Gallery; Gettysburg, PA
  • 2004 – "Summer '04 SUNY New Paltz Painters," Honors Center; New Paltz, NY
  • 2000 – "BFA Undergraduate Exhibition," Gallery 2; Chicago, IL
  • 1999 – "Senior Show 1999," Gettysburg College Art Gallery; Gettysburg, PA

Contact

***If you would like to contact me for commissions or to purchase work that you have seen here or elsewhere, please send all inquiries via email to holly@theholly.org. Thank you!