island presents Gwen Hollingsworth’s debut solo exhibition, Walking in Circles in the Night
island is proud to showcase the debut solo exhibition of Gwen Hollingsworth, Walking in Circles in the Night. Drawing from the principles of Daoism, Hollingsworth’s artistic approach reflects a deep connection to nature and the sacredness of landscapes. Her work transforms gardens and natural environments into abstract psychological maps, seeking sanctuary and self-awareness through her painterly process.
Hollingsworth’s paintings dissolve the physical world into a rich interplay of symbols and signs. Through a process of psycho-geographic world-building, she creates ethereal surfaces that echo the contemplative qualities of Yuan Dynasty painters such as Huang Gongwang. Like these historical antecedents, her work resists straightforward representation, favoring an emergent visual language that reveals itself gradually.
Paintings such as Relic are infused with floral silhouettes, claw-like gestures, and dynamic color relationships that evoke vaporous landscapes and nocturnal scenes on the brink of recognition. Beginning with dark underpaintings, her iterative process sharpens contours while simultaneously erasing layers, producing atmospheric compositions imbued with depth and mystery.
Central to Gwen Hollingsworth’s practice is the exploration of her Chinese heritage, feminine cosmological rituals, and the universal cycles of nature. This thematic core is especially evident in Ruminations and The Letter Blue, the exhibition’s largest works, which create a liminal space through their pulsating, expansive surfaces. Hollingsworth draws on the concept of Yin, the feminine essence in Chinese cosmology, to embody regeneration and decay. Her root-like forms and earth-inspired imagery channel this life-giving potential, crafting a temporal space where the future is felt in the immediacy of the present.
Born in Los Angeles in 1998, Gwen Hollingsworth’s work bridges the psychological and the spiritual, inviting viewers into landscapes that challenge conventional perceptions of space and reality. A UCLA graduate in 2020, her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, including Sow & Tailor, Roberts Projects, Anat Ebgi, and Swivel Gallery. Currently a resident at Silver Art Projects in New York City, she continues to refine her exploration of landscapes as sacred, introspective sites.
In Walking in Circles in the Night, Hollingsworth creates a meditative dialogue between the viewer and the natural world, inviting a deeper reflection on personal and collective sanctuaries. Her debut solidifies her as a compelling voice in contemporary painting, redefining the boundaries of abstraction and its connection to spiritual and psychological realms.
All images courtesy of island, shared with permission
