ARTIST BIO

Holly Guertin is a contemporary fiber artist creating in felt, embroidery, and crochet. She received her BFA in Fibers from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in 2011, and is currently based in the Philadelphia, PA area. She has shown work at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art (2017), Gallery 26 (2023), and Twenty*Twenty House (2023) and has been featured in Colossal (2024), Business of Home (2023), Frankie Magazine (2018), Brown Paper Bag (2018), and Knit Wit Magazine (2015). In 2019, Guertin collaborated with Anthropologie to create collections for Fall Home Goods and Holiday Decor inspired by her artworks. “All Like Sheep” (2011), “Pink Sheepskin” (2018), and “Rise and Fall” (2023) are exhibited in SCAD’s Permanent Collection.

ARTIST STATEMENT

In my artwork, I invite the viewer to look at sheep and their wool as if in a mirror. Intertwining sheep into our own story, I ask, do we have anything to offer? What happens to our dignity when the intellectual or the spiritual take primacy over the physical and the tangible? Through wool, I explore the interconnectedness of the human person and notice the ever-dynamic harmony between the physical and the spiritual. In an increasingly disconnected, disembodied, and virtual world, my work grounds the viewer to the tactile and the real, showing the human experience as a marvel and a wonder.

The variations in wool between sheep breeds contain biological differences that have masterfully adapted to their unique climates and with properties that are essential and incredibly beneficial to human flourishing. Celebrating this and showcasing wool as an extraordinary material through felt, embroidery, and crochet, my work challenges the viewer to confront the body and the material of our existence with a spirit of awe. Each work invites and is created by the irreplaceable human touch.

My processes are ancient in tradition and rich in feminine heritage. Felt is the oldest known type of fabric and embroidery and crochet are both historically dominated by female makers. Enthralled by this heritage, the passage of time, and retention of memory - especially as I mother four sons - I employ time-intense processes, historical techniques, and traditional symbols. I reference sacred artworks, most notably Agnus Dei by Francisco de Zurbaran and the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb by Jan and Hubert van Eyck. Sheep have captured our attention and built sustainable economies for centuries. Yet, synthetic fibers and globalization have drastically impacted our relationship to the soft goods that make up our daily lives and the living creatures - both human and natural - that bring them to us. I aim to disrupt this lack of awareness through beauty, intricacy, and texture.