Erin Holly: A Trans Arrangement of the Painted Space

16 November - 9 December 2023

I am deeply involved with the process of unlearning and undoing,

remaking and rebuilding as a way to find spaciousness in my practice and work.

– Erin Holly.
The exhibition marks a significant milestone in Holly’s artistic portfolio. Having graduated from the City and Guilds School of Art in London, Holly’s practice has shifted from public large-scale murals spanning North and South America, Europe and Australia, to navigating the confines of the gallery space. This artistic identity is deeply intertwined with Holly’s work, as she manipulates colour to guide the viewer through these structures, without the constraints of a fixed gaze. A deft control of colour, minimal tonal contrasts, and deliberately blurred or unfinished segments come together to create a purposeful absence, a conscious disruption of norms that seeks to question the learned ideologies attached to architectural spaces.
Embodied, scored, and arranged. These are the words British artist Erin Holly uses to describe the deeply personal artistic process behind her highly anticipated debut London exhibition, A Trans Arrangement of The Painted Space.

On view in Mayfair’s JD Malat Gallery from 16 November until 9 December, the exhibition unveils Holly’s new series of oil paintings depicting colourful and semi fictional fabrications of interior spaces. Coinciding with Trans Awareness Week (13 – 19 November), the exhibition offers a critical exploration of interior environments, their connection with the politics of space and inclusion, contemporary social categorisations, and most pertinently, Holly’s journey with her identity and understanding of embodiment.