BIO + STATEMENT
Holly Tharnish lives and works in Omaha, Nebraska. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Nebraska-Omaha with a minor in art history in 2019. She attended UNO with a Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation Scholarship. During her time at UNO, she was featured in multiple student exhibitions, earned a Bertha Mengedoht Hatz Memorial Scholarship for Artistic Excellence as well as a Wanda Ewing Memorial Scholarship. She was the 2018-2019 Vice President of the UNO Art Club and curated student exhibitions for the organization. In 2018, Holly helped create Benson's Oceanside Mural near the intersection of Maple and 63rd streets. Holly's first solo exhibition at the Florence Mill Museum and Art-Loft Gallery commenced in September 2019 as the year's recipient of the Conner Meigs Art Award. The show focused on her own self-realization within the scope of her vast family history.
Artist Statement
I am constantly inspired by things old and historical. Folktales and storybooks, anecdotes passed down through generations, memories, old photographs, and historical imagery are among the primary influences of my art practice. My work explores themes of history and heritage, introspection and identity, womanhood, and the contrasts between the world we live in, the stories we tell, and the narratives we keep inside our minds. Whether I am working in oil paint, watercolor, graphite, on paper or canvas or wood, these concepts are at the forefront of my mind. When encountering these ideas, I am struck by the way ancestral details and figures mirror those I recognize in my own life. By highlighting parallels, drawing connections between our lives now and life in a different time, I strive to bring out a sense of comfort from the nostalgia of what once was.
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Drawing upon historical references in tandem with my own memories and emotions allows me to approach subjects central to who I am, while both expressing and examining my existence within my surroundings. In essence, I paint my world. I view my most recent paintings as visual diaries wherein I study my past, present, and inner workings in often surreal vignettes based upon personal experiences, dreams, and imaginings.
