March 2018 Feature Artist - Ski Holm
Ski Holm
Painter
http://SkiHolm.blogspot.com
When Learning a New Language
President
Emeritus of the Museum of Modern Art, Agnes Gund, penned an
article for the Huffington Post in 2010 titled “Relish the Art That
Surrounds You”. It was a good piece, where she notes, "We are
surrounded by art and beauty - all of us, wherever we live, wherever we
do. Our challenge is to recognize and relish it."1. A sentiment that easily applies to the
remarkable cityscapes by the artist Ski Holm. His lush colors and well-structured
compositions are truly something to relish. This work beautifully
captures the essence of New York, with scenes that many could, and do, pass by every
day, without stopping to appreciate their intrinsic beauty. The Fat Canary Journal is pleased to
celebrate Ski Holm’s keen eye and talent as our feature artist.
Ski
describes the inspiration behind his series titled "City":
"Of all the places that I've lived I've never felt more at home than
when I lived in New York City. However much it has changed it still feels like
home. My urban landscapes attempt to reflect that. I normally forgo the
frenetic aspects of the city in favor of the more quiet scenes. This is by and
large what New Yorkers tend to do, look for solitude in a city of eight million
people."
By Any Means
In addition, on the
series titled “Scenes from a Train”, he playfully
invites us to “Come along as I take you
on a tour of the country's forgotten infrastructure, the railroad. The epitome
of bureaucracy in of all its glorious dysfunction. Nowhere else in the world do
we encounter so many perfect examples of a nation's economic policy decisions,
both successful and failed. Experience a trek filled with mile after mile of
rust, rot and decay, and if you pay close enough attention, you won't even
notice that you made it to your destination more or less on time. Witness the
patchwork of repairs that were given absolutely no aesthetic consideration, but
are beautiful nonetheless. The rails, where form follows function, if you are
lucky. It is the one place on the globe where you are constantly reminded that
no one gives a crap about what you see out your window. Welcome, to America's
backyard.”
Diagonals and Stripes
The Red Drawbridge
A
well-credentialed artist, Ski credits much of his recent success to the
practice of daily painting. He describes its profound effect on his work
and life:
"This practice was brought to my attention by
a well-meaning student and friend, Treva Ghattas. She thought that it might be a good way for
me to make a living through painting. She showed me examples of the work of
Carol Marine. I was duly impressed, but I could not see myself doing this. The
paintings were so small and my work was much, much larger (daily paintings are
in the five by seven, or six by six inch range. At the time, I was creating
works that were seven by six FEET). I researched it further and found the works
of Michael Naples, Julian Merrow-Smith, and the father of
daily painting Duane Keiser (he is credited with coining the phrase,
“painting-a-day”).
What put me over the edge in deciding to try it was
a conversation I had with Stephen Magsig at an exhibit opening.
Seeing his incredible work and hearing his passion for the discipline,
convinced me to try it.
After several false starts and more disastrous
paintings than I would like to admit (this is not as easy as it may look), I
was ready to take the full plunge. Not just the painting part but the selling
as well. As it turned out my procrastination paid off. It gave Carol Marine and
her husband, David time to build a site solely for selling these paintings. As
Carol puts it, “Imagine if Ebay and Etsy had a kid, who was an artist.” I have
been a member of Daily Paintworks since August of 2012 with absolutely no
regrets.
Although I no longer produce a painting each day, the
principles of working each day has stuck with me. The paint on my palette is
never dry, and I am constantly running out of painting panels. All is right
with the world."
The Shadow
Trestle Rust
To
again quote Gund, Ski Holm’s work encapsulates "… the surprise and small thrills that come from
acknowledging the loveliness that is both momentary and constant in the
everyday, ordinary encounters of our lives..."2
Under the FDR
Upcoming Events
Ski
will have several paintings in the invitational exhibit
Opening
reception: Friday, April 13, 2018, 6:30 - 9:00 PM
Upcoming
Class: Oil Painting
Thursdays,
1:00 – 4:00 PM, March 8 – April 12 (6 Weeks)
Please
contact the Arts Council at 717-264-6883 or click here
for more information
Three Stacks
Newark at Dusk
Down the East River
A Walk in the Rain
Long Day
Recent Shows and Galleries
Represented
by: Principal
Gallery, Alexandria, VA
One, Two & Three Person Exhibits
2017 City,
Chambersburg Area Council for the Arts, Chambersburg, PA
2013 Cemetery:
The Unintended Subject, Mercersburg Academy, Mercersburg, PA
2012 Recent
Works, Large and Small, Wilson College, Chambersburg, PA
2010 Have
You Noticed...?, Washington County Arts Council, Hagerstown, MD
2005 Corn,
Paintings & Works on Paper, Washington
Co. Museum of Fine Arts,
Hagerstown, MD
Select Group Exhibits
Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA
2018 City
Lights, Urban Landscape, Invitational Exhibit
2017 Small Works,
Invitational Exhibit
2016 Small
Works, Invitational Exhibit
Root
to Bloom, Where Artists Call Home
2014 Urban
Aspect
Washington County Museum of Fine Arts,
Hagerstown, MD
2013
Cumberland Valley Artist Association
2012
Museum Art School Reunion Exhibition
2009
Annual Faculty Exhibit
2008
Moonlight and Roses
2007
Washington County Museum of Fine Arts: 75th Anniversary, Recent
Acquisitions
Collections:
Washington County Museum of Fine Arts
The New York Yankees Foundation
Summit Health Care
Elizabethtown College
American Association of University Women
Penn State University
Florida University
Theater for the New City
Many private collections throughout The US, Canada,
The UK and Europe
Experience:
1992 - Pres. Private
Art Instructor, Chambersburg, PA
2011 – Pres. Instructor
at the Arts Council of Chambersburg
2007 – 14 Instructor
at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts
2011 – 14 Artist
Residency at James Buchanan High School
2011, 16, 17 Juror
for the Student Exhibit at Wilson College, Chambersburg, PA
Education:
1977 – 80 Fashion
Institute of Technology, NYC, Fine Arts (Pitts, Perlis,
Daykin, Arcilesi)
Daykin, Arcilesi)
1978 The Art Students’ League, NYC,
Anatomy (Hale)
1973 – 76 C.
W. Post College, Long Island, NY, Life Drawing
Contact
and Social Media:
SkiHolm@gmail.com
Daily Paintworks Gallery:
for a print version of this issue please click here or email editors@FatCanaryJournal.com
_________________________________________________________
1,
2 Relish
the Art That Surrounds You, by Agnes Gund, Huffington Post 10/18/2010
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