Gemma Holzer

Painting (MA)
The artist sitting in a chair in front of her work.
Flat wall-based sculpture, consisting of seven paintings of rock-faces, suspended within a large steel frame by metal chains.
Flat wall-based sculpture, consisting of seven paintings of rock-faces, suspended within a large steel frame by metal chains.
'Disconnection, Averted Gazes', 2025, Oil and acrylic on wood, mild steel, hardware, 240 x 200 cm
wall-based painting consisting of five rock-faces, imbedded behind a wooden off-cut with holes, framed by steel.
wall-based painting consisting of five rock-faces, imbedded behind a wooden off-cut with holes, framed by steel.
'Under the Surface', 2025, Oil and acrylic on canvas, wood, mild steel, 125 x 127 cm
Flat free. standing sculpture, consisting of seven paintings of rock-faces strung up in a line within a steel frame by metal chains.
Flat free. standing sculpture, consisting of seven paintings of rock-faces strung up in a line within a steel frame by metal chains.
'Strung Up', 2025, Oil and acrylic on wood, mild steel, hardware, 245 x 60 cm
Flat wall-based sculpture, consisting of three paintings of rock-faces dangling within a steel frame from metal chains.
Flat wall-based sculpture, consisting of three paintings of rock-faces dangling within a steel frame from metal chains.
'Suspended / Confined', 2025, Oil on wood, mild steel, hardware, 75 x 100 cm
Flat wall-based sculpture, consisting of seven paintings of rock-faces, suspended within a large steel frame by metal chains.
wall-based painting consisting of five rock-faces, imbedded behind a wooden off-cut with holes, framed by steel.
Flat free. standing sculpture, consisting of seven paintings of rock-faces strung up in a line within a steel frame by metal chains.
Flat wall-based sculpture, consisting of three paintings of rock-faces dangling within a steel frame from metal chains.

About

Gemma Holzer’s work renders a mixture of personal nostalgia and reimagined histories. Her pieces suggest ancient cultures, featuring idols of strange creatures, inhabiting nondescript spaces. They allude to artefacts involved in funerary practices, vessels that hold long forgotten memories.

Holzer draws inspiration from standing stones and other Neolithic sites; relics from distant pasts that hold physical space in the present. This narrative is echoed in her paintings, as she positions references to ancient imagery in contrast with newly manufactured representations, bringing past and present together.

A sense of tension/violence is introduced by way of oppressive steel structures, where isolated figures are suspended by chains within metal frameworks. Holzer explores themes surrounding physical discomfort and emotional strain through her depictions of these strung up creatures. Feelings around disconnection are expressed through averted gazes. Like the relics they reference, their stories remain unknown.

 

Gemma Holzer (b. 1996) is a Dutch/American artist based in London. Since obtaining a BA (hons) in Fine Art from City & Guilds of London Art School in 2019, Holzer has exhibited her work extensively both nationally and internationally, across solo and group exhibitions.

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