Spotlight

Spotlight Artist Curtis Holder

Championed by Gaylene Gould
The Wick Culture - Echoes of Eshu III by Curtis Holder (PRINT VERSION), coloured pencil on paper, 150 x 121 cm, 2024
Above  Echoes of Eshu III by Curtis Holder (PRINT VERSION), coloured pencil on paper, 150 x 121 cm, 2024
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The Wick Culture - Spotlight Artist Curtis Holder
Above  
Interview
Curtis Holder
Photography
Cameron Slater
17 July 2024
Interview
Curtis Holder
Photography
Cameron Slater
17 July 2024
Curtis Holder often paints solitary Black men: in tender graphite lines against plain backgrounds, these portraits pay homage to profound personal exchanges between artist and subject. The topic of conversation between Holder and his sitters for the artist’s most recent body of work, on display at a solo exhibition titled Curtis Holder: Portraits of Brotherhood at Guildford House Gallery until September, was their shared recollections of “’The Talk’: the conversation Black parents have with their children to prepare them for the prejudices they’ll face in adulthood. We compared our experience of that moment – the sense of confusion, fear and loss. The conversations that took place during our sittings were transformative. They were deeply personal exchanges. They were joyful, painful, and hopeful conversations. The final portraits address the assumption that as Black men we are all the same and should be viewed as such. We are not.”
Holder’s champion for The Wick is artist and Monday Muse Gaylene Gould who said: “Curtis’s work is extraordinary in form and style and also in psychological truth. It’s the way Curtis uses the portrait process as a means of deeper connection and understanding with his collaborator-sitters that lends the work such emotional resonance. Some work just moves you, and you don’t know why. With Curtis it’s clear – he’s reaching for humanity and he always finds it.”

Holder puts this partly down to his process, which always begins with getting to know his sitter and understand their life. “I’m drawn to the human, the subtle and the sometimes under-appreciated areas of life. For me, the dialogue I enter into with whoever I’m drawing is a point of connection where we can share our experiences and emotions. It’s the point where we begin to make the work together.”

Holder’s first institutional solo show exemplified this: as the first ever artist in residence at the National Theatre, London, Holder attended rehearsals and was invited to witness the thrilling backstage world of the theatre. He chose to bring attention to those who aren’t normally in the spotlight. “I was captivated by the work of the backstage production teams: the hair and wig stylists, prop and puppet makers, makeup artists, stage technicians and costume makers. These are the unsung heroes of theatre, yet their work is the backbone of each production, from epic set builds to meticulously crafted props.” Over many months of conversing and observing, Holder produced a series of large-scale portraits – “a celebration of all the dynamic creatives who bring theatre to life.”

Enveloping his subject’s stories with his own capacious imagination and attentiveness, Holder is undoubtedly one of the most exciting draftsmen working in the UK today. And the medium, as Holder tells The Wick, “is my first language. It’s an extension of who I am. Being both dyslexic and narcoleptic, it’s helped me to navigate my thoughts, fears and feelings and to understand the world around me.”

About the champion

The Wick Culture - Spotlight Artist Curtis Holder

Gaylene Gould is a multidisciplinary artist who creates works that unearth buried stories in places, people and cultures especially those that exist on the margins. Her works are research-led and often participatory, making room for multiple voices alongside her own. She is drawn to public, accessible spaces. Her digital collage artworks blend found and personal images to create new speculative landscapes and symbols. Gould has been commissioned by the Tate, V&A, Clore Leadership, Selfridges, Durham University, Moderna Museet Sweden and BAM amongst others and is an award-winning fiction writer and broadcaster. She has created radio documentaries for BBC Radio 4 including Transcendence How Can I Feel Art Again. She is also host of Serpentine podcast series, Reworlding and Intimacies.

“Curtis’s work is extraordinary in form and style and also in psychological truth.”

Gaylene Gould

Place of Birth

Leicester, UK

Education

BA (Hons) Graphic Design, Kingston University, PGDip 2D Character Animation, Central St Martins, London, PGCE (Art & Design), Roehampton University

Awards, Accolades

Winner of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2020, Winner of The John Ruskin Prize 2024, National Theatre’s first ever Artist in Residence

Current exhibitions

Curtis Holder: Portraits of Brotherhood at Guildford House Gallery, Guildford from 6 July – 28 September, 2024. Terry Higgins: Three Ages of Terry (2023) is on display as part of the Primary Collection at National Portrait Gallery, London.

Spiritual guides, Mentors

My parents are constantly guiding with the wisdom they left behind. My friends Gaylene Gould and Kate Bryan have been my champions and sounding boards.

Advice

Be yourself, Trust yourself, Enjoy yourself.


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