With ‘Plumb Line’ Loie Hollowell Transcends into the Canon of Art History

Installation view of Loie Hollowell: Plumb Line
540 West 25th Street, New York
September 14 – October 19, 2019
Photographed by Melissa Goodwin, courtesy Pace Gallery

 

For the past several years, we’ve fallen head over heels for Loie Hollowell’s ability to create works that exist as bold, vibrant, and strong yet somehow are inherently tranquil, effecting viewers on a number of levels. In her newest body of work, which debuted at Pace Gallery’s brand-new New York flagship on September 14th, Hollowell continues an exploration in the female body in what is perhaps her most personal body of work yet.

 

Loie Hollowell, Standing in Light, 2018
© Loie Hollowell, courtesy Pace Gallery

 

In Plumb Line, Hollowell presents nine works sized in her body’s likeness that tell the story of the recent pregnancy and birth of her first child. Tracing the female body from the moment of conception, through the various stages of pregnancy to the birthing experience, the works on view are Hollowell’s most direct representation of the female body to date.

 

Loie Hollowell, Birthing Dance, 2018
© Loie Hollowell, courtesy Pace Gallery

 

Despite the obvious resemblance to the female form, Hollowell’s paintings are so stylistically versatile in their abstraction, that many other references come to mind. An investigation into landscape and the perception of space in general are both prevalent on Hollowell’s surfaces. Her use of varying materials, from linen, molding paste and sawdust to high-density foam, create a cohesive visual language full of depth and dimensionality.

 

Installation view of Loie Hollowell: Plumb Line
540 West 25th Street, New York
September 14 – October 19, 2019
Photographed by Melissa Goodwin, courtesy Pace Gallery

 

A constant in Hollowell’s work is symmetrical forms, which she mimics from the natural symmetry found in nature. Though carefully constructed, each work feels wholly organic, like a continuous reaction to itself.  Each piece seems to touch on a spiritual plane, rooted in a familiar physicality but transcending our human understanding.

 

Standing in Blue, 2018
© Loie Hollowell, courtesy Pace Gallery

 

Hollowell’s process is a slow build, made evident with many small brushstrokes and assorted marks. The overall effect is that of something sacred, made clearer by the obvious attention put on every single interaction the artist has with the surface of her work.

 

Installation view of Loie Hollowell: Plumb Line
540 West 25th Street, New York
September 14 – October 19, 2019
Photographed by Melissa Goodwin, courtesy Pace Gallery

 

To take in the work, one must personally experience it. A visual rendering merely touches the surface to all at play in Hollowell’s oeuvre. Her work glows with a richness and beauty that cannot be replicated and feels truly extraordinary in the current painting field. Taking in Hollowell’s work is taking in a piece of art history, one that feels certain to long outlive the present moment.

 

 

Installation view of Loie Hollowell: Plumb Line
540 West 25th Street, New York
September 14 – October 19, 2019
Photographed by Melissa Goodwin, courtesy Pace Gallery

 

Plumb Line is on view at Pace Gallery New York through October 19th