“There are many influences in my work. However the dominant theme tends to be the interaction between classical realism and abstract expressionism. I work fast and with large strokes to convey the rawness of nature. I want to leave every painting in what could be considered an incomplete state, because I believe an unrefined painting is truer to nature and to my own emotions. When earthly references are suggested rather than spelled out, space is created for the painting to move, breathe and grow in the viewerʼs imagination.” -Bayard Hollins
BAYARD HOLLINS paints the conjunction between the emotional place and the “the rawness of nature”. The paintings are imbued with the energy of the brushstrokes. The artist leaves room for the viewer’s input, rather than defining the scene precisely. There is a union of intent and execution.
On his approach to the new work, Hollins writes: “The ground we feel beneath our feet at this point in history can no longer be held within the traditional language of painterly realism. A shift is happening. We are being propelled toward a new understanding of ourselves and the world we inhabit. We can no longer fully trust our eyes and must instead rely on feeling our way through. The jagged edges of this new reality place us on the precipice of an abstract world of our won making, while the memory of the past lingers like a dream.”
Hollins’ formal education took place largely abroad. In addition to a year at the New York Academy of Art, Hollins studied at the Florence Academy of Art, Studio Cecil-Graves, Florence Italy, the Cleveland Institute of Art Program at Lacoste, France and at the University of Salamanca, Spain. His work has been exhibited in numerous solo and group shows from California to Maine and is in corporate and private collection both in the US and Europe.