Josh Holland | Relationships in Public Space

Throughout the last dozen years of his life, Josh Holland returned again and again to a subject that had always attracted his attention - the visibility of the invisible bonds between people in public places. He sketched, photographed and painted the relationships described by spaces and posture, revealing privacy amidst the chaotic atmosphere of shopping malls, food courts, train stations, and even public parks. Always aware of the context, he framed and expanded upon the planes and structures around a couple on a bench, a family at table, a group in a restaurant, or the casual passerby amidst those waiting on benches. Many of these paintings were shown around town, most notable of these was sponsored by The Public Arts Trust of the Arts and Humanities council of Montgomery County, "Josh Holland, People: A Painter's-Eye View" displayed for a 4-month period in Visions Exhibition Space of The Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center. The District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities owns several on these subjects, among their 23 Josh Holland works, visible in their Art Bank (http://dcarts.dc.gov/node/403362).