“I want to make art that helps me make sense of the world around me and my place in it.” Denise Holland presents a strong perspective about language and history. Materials such as plaster, wood and words are repurposed. Through this repurposing and perspectivism, Denise creates an insightful view of the world, encouraging the viewer to enter.
Cultivating an interest in her family’s history, Denise draws parallels between her experience of the German language and the experience of her ancestors.
As a way of interpreting the world, the artist skews familiar meanings of the surrounding realities. Philosophical, political and social issues interest the Canada-based artist, allowing her to addre contemporary issues. Her artwork is a sensitive, raw and minimal way of perceiving the complexity of connections.
She strips down all layers, reaching the barest form of communication. Denise is fiercely focused on the pursuit of simplicity as the strongest way to mould an idea. The materials that inhabit her current workspace cast a magical feeling of a familiar tale or narrative. Working in a surrealist way, the weight of the Second World War and the history of her parents is boldly narrated throughout the stories of the materials.
images by PILOTENKUECHE International Art Program
“I’m interested in Germany because my parents are originally from here,” explains the artist. She uses words such as “raw” and “rough” to describe the first impressions of her parents homeland. She admires the deep strength embedded in the thick layers of Leipzig’s history. It stimulates a deep curiosity and reflection upon the ability of language to narrate feelings and experiences. In a way to provide an insightful perspective, Denise embarks on a remarkable journey into her own records, reflecting on the different barriers and aspects of language.
Denise’s first contacts with the language barrier were “disorienting, but exciting at the same time.”
Her perspectivist-drive observes the concepts of freedom and protest, blossoming outwards into her current work. She uses blind-contour drawing to highlight the surface of a deep and rich unknown. Her current work questions temporal and physical presence. Parallel lines between personal and universal historical connection are being drawn for the upcoming shows. Denise’s work activates an unsettling feeling about the structures of power and of stories.
Written by Natacha Martins
See more of Denise’s work on her website and come see what she creates here at the upcoming shows.
Almost Tension
vernissage:
Sat 29 Feb 2019
7PM
performance:
TBA
Alteshandelsschule
Geisserstr 75
04229 Leipzig
open:
Sun 1 Mar, Thur 5 – Sat 7 Mar
2PM-6PM
Hard Fluid Betrayal
vernissage:
Sat 21 Mar 2019
7PM
performance:
TBA
open:
Sun 22 Mar – Tue 24 Mar
2PM-6PM
PILOTENKUECHE
Franz-Flemming-Str 904179 Leipzig