Exhibition Review - "Tick Tock Belly Clock" by Loie Hollowell

 

Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, Davis, California

Entrance sign to Loie Hollowell's exhibition, "Tick Tock Belly Clock."

Last week I was able to visit the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art in Davis, California. The Manetti Shrem is a contemporary art museum with architecture that feels futuristic and inviting through its open atmosphere. One of the exhibits being shown was Loie Hollowell's "Tick Tock Belly Clock." Loie Hollowell is an artist born and raised in Northern California, whose work focuses on the body, spirituality, femininity, birth, and abstraction. This exhibition, "Tick Tock Belly Clock," features soft pastel drawings and oil paintings revolving around themes of pregnancy and birth.



One wall of Loie Hollowell's exhibition with 5 soft pastel drawings


Another wall of Loie Hollowell's exhibition featuring 7 soft pastel drawings

Loie Hollowell's pieces all feature symmetrical compositions with soft pastel colors. They are hung on the wall in a balanced, symmetrical fashion that mirrors the symmetry of the paintings themselves. The pieces hang close enough together to be clear that they are part of a thematic group, but far enough apart that each piece is able to stand on its own. The entire space feels very clean, soft, and comfortable. 

Loie Hollowell, Empty Belly, Soft pastel on paper, 2021

Hollowell's pieces all feature abstract representations of the female body. The colors and compositions have a spiritual and psychedelic quality to them through the presentation of repeating forms and symmetry. The forms in her work take on an interesting combination between both organic and geometric form. The piece pictured above, Empty Belly, features shapes that appear to represent a female body in the position of giving birth. Hands are shown coming out of the center, slowly growing from small to large. Shapes representing breasts are shown creating a symmetrical arch at the top of the drawing. 


Loie Hollowell, Finding Time, soft pastel on paper, 2021

The symmetry of this exhibition, seen both in the way the paintings are hung on the wall and within the compositions of the pieces themselves, seem to mirror the symmetry and order that is found within the human body and in nature. The presentation of colorful, repeating forms create a psychedelic feeling of spirituality. To me, these paintings are about the beauty of the human body and its capabilities. The two pieces shown above, Empty Belly, and Finding Time, both appear to represent a body in a birth giving position, with little hands and feet coming outward from the center. The hands and feet, growing from small to large as they come out of the woman's body, seem to convey that this is the place that life originates from. It feels like a celebration of the beauty of life and where it begins: at birth, from the mother's body. 

Myself, in front of Loie Hollowell's piece, Finding Time

Overall, I enjoyed the experience of viewing Loie Hollowell's exhibition. I feel that I can relate to its themes of femininity, and I appreciate its celebration of life, birth, and capabilities of the female body. The colors Loie Hollowell uses are soft, but colorful and very pleasing to the eye - something that is not fully captured in photographs. So for any who are able to visit the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art in Davis, I definitely recommend you visit this exhibit to fully experience it in person.

Comments

  1. ElaineApril 10, 2023 at 11:58 AM

    Your praise for this show and great pictures make me want to see this show. Some of your observations are especially insightful and well written. This one, for example: "The symmetry of this exhibition, seen both in the way the paintings are hung on the wall and within the compositions of the pieces themselves, seem to mirror the symmetry and order that is found within the human body and in nature."

    ReplyDelete
  2. amanda tuyenMay 12, 2023 at 1:39 PM

    It's great to hear about your visit to the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art and your experience viewing Loie Hollowell's "Tick Tock Belly Clock" exhibition. The way you described the symmetrical compositions and the spiritual, psychedelic quality of Hollowell's work is very intriguing. I can imagine how the soft pastel colors and the balanced presentation of the paintings added to the overall calming and comfortable feeling of the exhibition space. It's also interesting how the themes of femininity, birth, and abstraction come together in this exhibit, with the focus on the beauty and capabilities of the female body. I appreciate your recommendation to visit this exhibit in person to fully experience the colors and overall atmosphere of the exhibit. The Manetti Shrem Museum of Art sounds like a great place to explore contemporary art and I hope to visit one day myself.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ceramics Meets Social Practice - Amanda Leigh Evans Artist Talk

Image
  Amanda Leigh Evans (https://amandaleighevans.com/) Today I had the opportunity to attend an artist talk given by Amanda Leigh Evans. Amanda is an artist working at the intersection of ceramics and social practice. I was curious what this intersection would look like, as I had not heard the term "social practice" before. Ceramics, as many of us may know, involves working with ceramic materials such as clay and often involves creating pottery, tiles, figurines, sculptures, and more. Social practice is a form of art that involves social engagement and is participated in by a group or community. The work done by Amanda Leigh Evans combines these two art forms in a unique and engaging way. Much of Amanda's work deals with raw materials, gardens, agriculture, ceramics, and collaborative practices, and is focused on our social and ecological interdependence. As human beings, we are deeply connected and reliant on not only each other, but on the environment as well. Amanda'...
Read more

Artists Seeking Social Change - KQED Arts (8min)

Image
  Artists Seeking Social Change - KQED Arts  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocCsQpnjNrw (8min) A video named "Artists Seeking Social Change" by KQED Arts follows the work of two artists involved in social practice art in Oakland. As I wrote about in my last post, I had not heard of social practice art until recently, so it was exciting to learn more about artists involved in this art form and what more work of this kind could look like.  Chris Treggiari     Chris Treggiari is an American artist working in social practice art. Chris Treggiari went into the streets of Oakland to ask the community questions about what is happening in their city. He built an interactive news van and interviewed the public on their opinions about the changes occurring in Oakland.  Stephen Nienu after talking to Chris  Treggiari  (Andrew Stelzer/KQED) Chris quizzed individuals about the Domain Awareness Center, a project that was recently launched in Oakland to collect...
Read more

Woman Art Revolution by Lynn Hershman Leeson - The Feminist Art Movement (1hr 22min)

Image
   !Women Art Revolution - Lynn Hershman Leeson  (1hr 22min) Lynn Hershman Leeson's film "!Women Art Revolution" examines the feminist art movement from the 1960's through the twenty first century. With countless videos, photographs, and interviews from artists, the film highlights the struggles and successes of women artists of the feminist art movement.  The feminist art movement was formed as a response to the belief that women artists did not have a place in the art world. Lynn Hershman Leeson discusses being rejected by museums on the account that her work "wasn't art" and that she had no place there. Buyers rescinded offers on her art after learning the art was created by a woman. Today, she has sold her art for 9,000x the original price. The feminist art movement created change that allows women to exist and succeed in the industry today. The Woman's Building, Los Angelos Artists in the movement created performances, artwork, and institutions ...
Read more