Biography
Bayard Hollins' work explores the link between abstraction and figurative representation. Although the lines back to classical realism can be traced, Hollins' approach is absolutely modern. Spatial qualities and momentum are combined to exalt the rawness of nature. Earthly references to known objects and forms are allowed to remain undefined, demanding the viewer to engage his or her own imagination.
Bayard uses what he sees as a starting point. Sometimes he uses aerial photos. He puts as much as he can on the canvas initially and then subtracts, scraping down and repeating and seeing what works together. He works on intuition, capturing the essences. Bayard explores the underlying energy and emotion of the physical world.
He employs large broad planes of tone and color, often working with Tribal influences. Passages in the work have Indians and animals, planes and cars, houses- what we see is 50% tied to our imagination and how we perceive the history of a place. Bayard contemplates relationships of how we are looking at the planet we are living on. How urban areas connect to agriculture and agriculture to wilderness and the tension of this relationship interests.
With a start in classical realism, when he moved out west, Bayard's work had a profound shift. Influenced by the large spaces, he was prompted to shift into more contemporary and abstract modes of expression. In his studio work, he varies projects in the studio based on his insights and emotions.
A Colorado artist, Bayard has a long-standing connection to California's central coast. Born into a family of artists and writers, he grew up in the Santa Ynez Valley on a ranch once owned by renowned artist Channing Peake. Bayard counts among his early inspiration, Russell and Remington. His artistic life was changed when his mother gave him a book of Fritz Scholder's work. Young Bayard decided then that art would be his destiny. Fully supported by his parents, Bayard received a traditional academic education at the Florence Institute of Art, also studying in France, Spain, and New York. Bayard changed artistic direction upon arriving in Basalt, Colorado, ready to expand his body of work, he began to explore contemporary technique adding abstraction and expressionist themes to his painting and sculpture.
Artist Statement
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 spelled out, space is created for the painting to move, breath and grow in the viewer's imagination.
EDUCATION
1984 Cleveland Institute of Art, Program at Lacoste, France
1985-86 University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
1986-89 Studio Cecil-Graves, Florence, Italy
1989-90 New York Academy of Art
1991 Studio Cecil-Graves, Florence, Italy
1996 Florence Academy of Art
MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS
2003 Aspen Museum of Art
2005 Dallas Museum of Art
2005 Aspen Museum of Art
2010 Aspen Museum of Art
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1993 Double Door Gallery, Islesboro, ME
1994 Fishtails Gallery, Livingston, MT
1996 Islesboro Historical Society, Islesboro, ME
1998 Montecito Art Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
1999 Montecito Art Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
2000 Islesboro Historical Society, Islesboro, ME
2001 Double Door Gallery, Islesboro, ME
2002 Islesboro Historical Society, Islesboro, ME
2006 Sardella Fine Art, Aspen, CO
2007 Islesboro Historical Society, Islesboro, ME
2010 Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass, CO
2011 SAW Gallery Carbondale, CO
2011 Santa Barbara Architectural Foundation, SB, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1992 Double Door Gallery, Islesboro, ME
1993 Double Door Gallery, Islesboro, ME
1993 Danforth Gallery, Livingston, MT
1994 Double Door Gallery, Islesboro, ME
1994 Danforth Gallery, Livingston, MT
1994 Artifacts Gallery, Bozeman, MT
1995 J.S. Ames Fine Art, Belfast, ME
1997 Between The Muse Gallery, Rockland, ME
1999 Montecito Art Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
2004 112 Park Avenue Gallery, Basalt, CO
2007 Patton, Mallot and Gartner Galleries, Anderson Ranch Art Center, Snowmass, CO
2009 Patton, Mallot and Gartner Galleries, Anderson Ranch Art Center, Snowmass, CO
2010 David Floria Gallery, Aspen, CO
2011 Plinth Gallery, Denver, CO
2011 Patton, Mallot and Gartner Galleries, Anderson Ranch Art Center, Snowmass, CO
Government Collections
US State Department Art Bank
CORPORATE COLLECTIONS
St. Regis Hotels
The Sanford Winery
SELECTED AMERICAN COLLECTIONS
Karl Kister and Mary Caulkins, Denver, CO
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cohen, New York, NY
Mr. and Mrs. Jamie Houghton, Corning, NY
Hodding Carter and Pat Derian, Chapel Hill, NC
Mr. and Mrs. Launce Gamble, San Francisco, CA
Mr. and Mrs. Evan Bakst, New York, NY
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Stevens, Los Angeles, CA
Lily Tuck, New York, NY
Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone Jones, New Orleans, LA
Mr. and Mrs. James Light, Snowmass, CO
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Douglas, Denver, CO
Mr. Brad Kahlhamer, New York, NY
Mr. and Mrs. Josiah Hornblower, Atherton, CA
SELECTED INTERNATIONAL COLLECTIONS
T.R.H. Prince and Princess Robert de Luxembourg, Geneva, Switzerland
Duchesse de Mouchy, St. Remy de Provence, France
Ms. Fiona Drummond, Bourgogne, France
Mrs. Douglas Auchincloss, Paris, France
Mr. and Mrs. Mark Cunningham, London, England
Bayard Hollins' work explores the link between abstraction and figurative representation. Although the lines back to classical realism can be traced, Hollins' approach is absolutely modern. Spatial qualities and momentum are combined to exalt the rawness of nature. Earthly references to known objects and forms are allowed to remain undefined, demanding the viewer to engage his or her own imagination.
Bayard uses what he sees as a starting point. Sometimes he uses aerial photos. He puts as much as he can on the canvas initially and then subtracts, scraping down and repeating and seeing what works together. He works on intuition, capturing the essences. Bayard explores the underlying energy and emotion of the physical world.
He employs large broad planes of tone and color, often working with Tribal influences. Passages in the work have Indians and animals, planes and cars, houses- what we see is 50% tied to our imagination and how we perceive the history of a place. Bayard contemplates relationships of how we are looking at the planet we are living on. How urban areas connect to agriculture and agriculture to wilderness and the tension of this relationship interests.
With a start in classical realism, when he moved out west, Bayard's work had a profound shift. Influenced by the large spaces, he was prompted to shift into more contemporary and abstract modes of expression. In his studio work, he varies projects in the studio based on his insights and emotions.
A Colorado artist, Bayard has a long-standing connection to California's central coast. Born into a family of artists and writers, he grew up in the Santa Ynez Valley on a ranch once owned by renowned artist Channing Peake. Bayard counts among his early inspiration, Russell and Remington. His artistic life was changed when his mother gave him a book of Fritz Scholder's work. Young Bayard decided then that art would be his destiny. Fully supported by his parents, Bayard received a traditional academic education at the Florence Institute of Art, also studying in France, Spain, and New York. Bayard changed artistic direction upon arriving in Basalt, Colorado, ready to expand his body of work, he began to explore contemporary technique adding abstraction and expressionist themes to his painting and sculpture.
Artist Statement
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 spelled out, space is created for the painting to move, breath and grow in the viewer's imagination.
EDUCATION
1984 Cleveland Institute of Art, Program at Lacoste, France
1985-86 University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
1986-89 Studio Cecil-Graves, Florence, Italy
1989-90 New York Academy of Art
1991 Studio Cecil-Graves, Florence, Italy
1996 Florence Academy of Art
MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS
2003 Aspen Museum of Art
2005 Dallas Museum of Art
2005 Aspen Museum of Art
2010 Aspen Museum of Art
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1993 Double Door Gallery, Islesboro, ME
1994 Fishtails Gallery, Livingston, MT
1996 Islesboro Historical Society, Islesboro, ME
1998 Montecito Art Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
1999 Montecito Art Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
2000 Islesboro Historical Society, Islesboro, ME
2001 Double Door Gallery, Islesboro, ME
2002 Islesboro Historical Society, Islesboro, ME
2006 Sardella Fine Art, Aspen, CO
2007 Islesboro Historical Society, Islesboro, ME
2010 Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass, CO
2011 SAW Gallery Carbondale, CO
2011 Santa Barbara Architectural Foundation, SB, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1992 Double Door Gallery, Islesboro, ME
1993 Double Door Gallery, Islesboro, ME
1993 Danforth Gallery, Livingston, MT
1994 Double Door Gallery, Islesboro, ME
1994 Danforth Gallery, Livingston, MT
1994 Artifacts Gallery, Bozeman, MT
1995 J.S. Ames Fine Art, Belfast, ME
1997 Between The Muse Gallery, Rockland, ME
1999 Montecito Art Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
2004 112 Park Avenue Gallery, Basalt, CO
2007 Patton, Mallot and Gartner Galleries, Anderson Ranch Art Center, Snowmass, CO
2009 Patton, Mallot and Gartner Galleries, Anderson Ranch Art Center, Snowmass, CO
2010 David Floria Gallery, Aspen, CO
2011 Plinth Gallery, Denver, CO
2011 Patton, Mallot and Gartner Galleries, Anderson Ranch Art Center, Snowmass, CO
Government Collections
US State Department Art Bank
CORPORATE COLLECTIONS
St. Regis Hotels
The Sanford Winery
SELECTED AMERICAN COLLECTIONS
Karl Kister and Mary Caulkins, Denver, CO
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cohen, New York, NY
Mr. and Mrs. Jamie Houghton, Corning, NY
Hodding Carter and Pat Derian, Chapel Hill, NC
Mr. and Mrs. Launce Gamble, San Francisco, CA
Mr. and Mrs. Evan Bakst, New York, NY
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Stevens, Los Angeles, CA
Lily Tuck, New York, NY
Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone Jones, New Orleans, LA
Mr. and Mrs. James Light, Snowmass, CO
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Douglas, Denver, CO
Mr. Brad Kahlhamer, New York, NY
Mr. and Mrs. Josiah Hornblower, Atherton, CA
SELECTED INTERNATIONAL COLLECTIONS
T.R.H. Prince and Princess Robert de Luxembourg, Geneva, Switzerland
Duchesse de Mouchy, St. Remy de Provence, France
Ms. Fiona Drummond, Bourgogne, France
Mrs. Douglas Auchincloss, Paris, France
Mr. and Mrs. Mark Cunningham, London, England