Artist Holly Inkster
List of Exhibitions
I am a large-scale abstract, fauvist and post-expressionist painter. Born and raised in New Zealand, I currently live in the South of France after 13 years of living in England, where I hold duo NZ-British citizenship. From 2001-2005 I studied fine art, design and art history at Massey University School of Design in Wellington, New Zealand, gaining a degree in Visual Communication Design. Through multiple exhibitions in both New Zealand and Europe my works have been sold to clients around the world including Spain, England, Germany, Dubai, France, Australia and New Zealand. Regardless of my previous accomplishments I see myself very much as an emerging artist. Only since 2023 have I had the ability to focus solely on the study of furthering my own style and craft. As my style evolves I continue to break molds, resulting in works that are increasingly unique to me.
I produce most of my paintings in oil on canvas, in substantial proportions of up to 200cm wide. At this scale I can fully express my vision using broad, dynamic brushstrokes. Often plant life is recognisable in my works and sometimes I paint in a totally abstracted style. While gaining most of my inspiration from nature, I avoid focussing on the accurate representation of plant-life and instead focus on experimentations with colour and linework. For me the plantlife has always been the best part in any painting, whether it be a vase of flowers or a rambling garden my eye is always drawn to these parts of the canvas. I love the way the great artists of the fauvist and post-impressionist eras painted flora, loosely and without great detail, yet somehow they instinctively captured the essence of their beauty. For this reason I am championing the flora and allowing it to be the starting focus of each work.
Compositionally I am interested in the tension and balance between beauty, distress, space and movement. As in life, the raw and rough faults are present as much as the moments of calm and joy. In each work there are a multitude of differing relationships happening between hue, texture and shape. Every part of the canvas is working to serve the composition as a whole, even the negative spaces are acting to create contrasting areas of calm. I use colour repetition strategically to pull the eye around the canvas and to create a sense of unity, in what can otherwise be seen as delightfully chaotic.
2025 Gallery of Excellence, Saint Jean Cap Ferrat, Cote d'Azur, solo exhibition.
2025 'Un Jour d'Exposition', Journees Nationales des Artistes, Beaux Arts de Cannes, Cannes, group exhibition.
2025 Exposition d'œuvres d'art de Holly Inkster, Chapelle des Pénitents, Callian, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, solo exhibition
2025 Hors Cadre, Expo Rose 2025 Grasse, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, group exhibition
2024 'Terra Anima', galerie Atelier 27, Grasse, Côte D’Azur/Provence, group exhibition
2024 Art Must Go On - marché de l’art et des créateurs, Grasse, Côte D’Azur/Provence, Art fair
2023 ‘Dans le Jardin, Début en France’ Smith Modern Galerie d'art, Montauroux, Côte D’Azur, solo exhibition
2020 36th Annual Open, Southwark Park Galleries, London, group exhibition
2020 Covid lockdown online show, solo exhibition
2013 Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, solo exhibition
2011 Emporium, Muswell Hill, London, solo exhibition
2010/11 Lavely, Acton, London, solo exhibition
2010 ‘Spring’10’ Exhibition, Cafe Seventy Nine, Primrose Hill, London, solo exhibition
2009 Charity auction, London, group show
2009 ‘Colours of a Journey’ Holly Inkster Pop-up Gallery, Kings Road Chelsea Farmers Market collective, Chelsea, London,
shared exhibition
2009 ‘In the Garden at Primrose’ Cafe Seventy Nine, Primrose Hill, London, solo exhibition
2006 Delux, Wellington, solo exhibition
2005 Wellington Art Show, Wellington, public art expo
2004 Massey University, group exhibition
2002 Massey University, end of year showcase
1999 Rosetta Cafe, Raumati, Kapiti Coast, commissioned display