Kathleen Holmes

Kathleen Holmes grew up in the Deep South, where crochet, sewing, and embroidery were the utilitarian crafts for generations of women. In her sculptures, Holmes converts these crafts into art, bringing traditionally anonymous female handiwork from the margins to the center. The archetypal dress, Holmes’ signature sculptural format, pays homage to the generations of women and girls who comprise her artistic heritage. She incorporates crocheted textiles and found materials in her sculptures as metaphors for the emotional, social, behavioral, and spiritual patterns that people live by. She creates her sculptures much like a seamstress, cutting patterns and using wire thread to “sew” the galvanized sheet-metal bodices, which rust to the look of soft suede. Her social commentary is further enlivened by her engaging titles and puns.

Her sculpture took a new turn when, in 2002, she turned to glass as the canvas, or foundation, for her sculptures. She casts her glass structures from fabric-covered forms. Some are solid glass, others are hollow, allowing light to permeate the translucent material. Recently her painterly instincts have further embellished works such as “Dorothy’s Dream” and “Sonnets from the Portuguese” with scenic images that vividly illustrate the narrative of the works.