Holly Cahill
Holly Cahill’s abstractions weave together elements of the fantastic found at the heart of our domestic and shared environments. Her work has been shown at Pennsylvania State University, DEMO Project, Chicago Artist Coalition, Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, D Gallery, The Franklin, Hyde Park Art Center, and Walter Phillips Gallery, among others. She received her BFA in painting from Syracuse University and an MFA from the University of Cincinnati. She has been an artist in residence at the Vermont Studio Center, 8550 Ohio, the Banff Centre, Ox-Bow, and Spudnik Press Cooperative. Holly is an artist member of the newest branch of Tiger Strikes Asteroid in Chicago.
CNL: What is one thing you feel you have learned or experienced as an artist that you feel you can share with your peers and emerging artists in the field?
HC: During a lecture some time ago Hans Haacke described an artist’s career as a marathon, not a sprint. That bit of advice has stuck with me since and serves as a reminder not to loose sight of caring for myself and my family in the flurry of activity it takes to be an artist. Yoga and meditation have been a source of nourishment in my life and have come to inform my own art practice more and more.
For the Female Craftsmen, watercolor and ink on unprimed canvas, molding, 5' x 6', 2017
CNL: What’s something that you’re seeking from others in the field to support your practice?
HC: Something I felt I was lacking in my life for a long time was a deeper level of engagement in Chicago’s artist communities. In the past several years, I’ve been fortunate to be a part of many. One way has been as a member of an artist-run network of gallery spaces called Tiger Strikes Asteroid. Working alongside fellow artists to give greater visibility to the work of others has been very fulfilling and given me new vantage points from which to consider artistic exchange and collaboration. I’ve also become part of additional communities through residencies at Spudnik Press Cooperative and the Chicago Artist Coalition and more recently, as an independent curator. My curatorial work has been a great resource for my own practice and all of these communities have been important to my development as an artist.
CNL: What’s a piece of advice you would share with other artists or cultural producers in your field?
HC: Patience & Persistence: These two words of advice were passed on to me and I try to refer back to them frequently. It’s not always a grand gesture as much as many micro movements in my work that build deeper meaning and stable foundations from which I can continue building.