HOLLY JOHNSON GALLERY

Eric Cruikshank:
An Echo

March 30 – June 15

Holly Johnson Gallery is pleased to present Eric Cruikshank’s exhibition, An Echo, representing a selection of recent works on paper. An opening reception will be held Saturday, March 30th, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. This is the artist’s third solo exhibition with the gallery, and it will continue through June 15, 2024.

Taking landscape as an initial starting point, Eric Cruikshank’s focus is on the emotive qualities of place. In the absence of imagery or narrative, the works are left open to interpretation, as an almost blank plane to reflect one’s own emotions and ideas. Using an objective palette tied to the Scottish landscape, color acts as a vehicle to reveal the picture planes underlying points of reference; with the works being grounded in the everyday, the viewer is encouraged to readdress notions of their surroundings, where the familiar is made full of possibility.

This group of monochromatic and color gradient works on paper include oil, mixed media, pastel, and colored pencil. The works are completed with a meticulous level of control with color and impression of light being two major topics. Fields of color come under close scrutiny – with their refined shades and contours – and lead the eye around each piece, gently engaging the viewer in the act of looking.

Eric Cruikshank was born in Inverness, Scotland (1975). He received a BA (Hons) in Painting and Drawing from the Edinburgh College (1997). His art has been included in numerous exhibitions throughout the UK, Europe, America, and Japan, and he has been the recipient of several awards such as; Oppenheim-John Downes Memorial Trust Award (2016), Edinburgh Council Visual Artist Award (2014), Hope Scott Trust – joint award with Michael Craik (2013), and Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant (2009), among others. He has also participated in several residencies: the Mustarinda Residency, Finland (2012) and the Santa Fe Art Institute Residency (2010). He currently lives and works in Dundee, Scotland.

William Betts
A Man, A Plan, The Full Moon, – Yucatán

February 17 – May 04, 2024

Holly Johnson Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of William Betts: A Man, A Plan, The Full Moon, – Yucatán, an exhibition of recent large scale stencil paintings by the California based artist. An opening reception will be held February 17th from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. The exhibition continues through May 4.

The exhibition is a highly personal reflection on the artist’s Mérida and Yucatán adventure. Several works in the show are from photos he took as a young boy in 1974 visiting Merida. Fast forward 50 years – one weekend several years ago, he went back to Mérida and fell in love with the place. The memories of the childhood trip seemed fresh. The city had changed but remained hauntingly the same. The warmth of the people, the city’s historic colonial legacy, vibrant food, arts culture, and surrounding archaeological sites made it the perfect environment for his creative endeavors.

The eight works are from his series of stencil paintings. Using his own proprietary software Betts’ deconstructs his own historical images to create large scale photographic stencils set within the framework of a pixel grid. Rooted in craft and street art, stenciling is both accessible and relatable typically used to quickly communicate a picture and used multiple times over. Betts upends this notion and creates something that is technically complex and visually sublime.

William Betts was born and raised in New York City. He graduated with honors from Arizona State University with a BA in Studio Art and a minor in philosophy (1991). His work has been included in numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout the U.S. and in venues such as DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, Praha, Czech Republic and in Rasterfahndung (Tracing the Grid), Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Germany. He was selected by 1800 Tequila for their Essential Artists series (2013), New American Paintings’ Second Annual Prize (2012), First Place at the Assistance League of Houston Celebrates Texas Art (2008), a Hunting Art Prize finalist (2007 & 2010), Best in Show at Biennial Southwest at the Albuquerque Museum (2006) and in the Texas Biennial in Austin (2005 & 2007).

His work has been featured in publications such as New American Paintings, Artsjournal.com, San Antonio Express-News, Artlies, Glasstire, Houston Chronicle, Houston Press, The Boston Globe, Albuquerque Tribune, Chicago Tribune, and Chicago Reader. Betts currently lives and works in Palm Springs, California and hopes to someday return to the Yucatan and share his passion for it with his daughter.

 Holly Johnson Gallery
1845 Levee Street @ Turtle Creek Blvd
214.369.0169,
Gallery hours are 10 to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and by appointment.
hollyjohnsongallery.com.