Holly Ballard Martz US, b. 1965
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Overview
Holly Ballard Martz is a multidisciplinary artist who uses language and found objects to create iconic works about deeply felt social, political, and personal issues, including mental illness, gun violence, and reproductive rights. Her two-dimensional, sculptural, and installation-based practice includes casting, sewing, metalwork, and encaustic.
"My work is a catalyst for changing minds-first and foremost it is a challenge to my own mindset. I use it as a way to reveal nuanced thoughts on the most highly charged subjects of our political landscape. The force of these discussions requires me to make powerful visual statements in order to withstand the buffeting of debate on all sides. For this reason, I create pieces both of grand scale and of arresting beauty as a way to critique systems of power. The ideas may be subtle, but the art must be striking." - Holly Ballard Martz
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Selected Works
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Exhibitions & Fairs
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DIRTY LAUNDRY & DOMESTIC BLISS
a solo exhibition of works by Holly Ballard Martz 15 October - 15 November 2020'This year, 2020, marks the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, asserting women’s right to vote. Much progress has been made in the fight... -
PATTERN RECOGNITION
a solo exhibition of works by Holly Ballard Martz 7 June - 6 September 2018Holly Ballard Martz returns in June with Pattern Recognition, her second solo show with ZINC contemporary. This exhibition of mixed media sculpture is a response to our politically charged time.... -
SAUDADE and other untranslatable words
a group invitational exhibition 3 August - 29 September 2017ZINC contemporary celebrates its one year anniversary with a group show, SAUDADE & Other Untranslatable Words , Thursday, August 3 – Saturday, September 2, 2017. Curated by ZINC founder, Laura... -
MISTAKES WERE MADE
a solo exhibition of works by Holly Ballard Martz 18 May - 18 June 2017 -
SEATTLE ART FAIR 2022
21 - 24 July 2022 -
SEATTLE ART FAIR 2019
August 2019 1 - 4 August 2019ZINC contemporary is pleased to present a large scale installation of Holly Ballard Martz’s Danger of Nostalgia (in wallpaper form), calling attention to the murky history of women's reproductive rights...
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News
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IN THE STUDIO
An Inside Look At The Workspaces and Rituals of Our Artists February 1, 2023Studio visits are an exciting way to plug into an artist's mindspace and get an unfiltered look at where they might be headed with their work. It's a priviledge and... -
20 Years Of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Exhibition: REFLECTIONS
Holly Ballard Martz one of six commissioned artists to present works January 1, 2020In January 2020, six Seattle area artists were asked to create artwork for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 20th anniversary exhibition entitled REFLECTIONS. The artists were asked to interpret... -
2022 Neddy Artist Award Exhibition
Featuring works by Finalist Holly Ballard Martz September 7, 2022The Neddy Artist Award program is one of the Pacific Northwest’s largest and most esteemed annual awards for artists. The Award program began in 1996 as a tribute to the... -
DANGER OF NOSTALGIA Installation at Bellevue Art Museum
Holly Ballard Martz' largest installation on display in the FORUM at Bellevue Art Museum January 1, 2023This large scale installatiion of Danger of Nostalgia (in wallpaper form) was on display in the forum at the Bellevue Art Museum from Sep 2020 - Jan 2023. -
New Billboard Exhibition Features Work by Holly Ballard Martz
Curated by Michele Pred for Save Art Space | VOTE FOR ABORTION RIGHTS October 1, 2022Featuring AUSCULTATION (there are some things only women can hear) , 2019
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Press
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Designing Motherhood: Holly Ballard Martz at the Gates Foundation
March 25, 2023 -
'This Is A State Of Emergency’: The US Billboards Using Art To Urge Abortion Access
Adrian Horton, The Guardian, November 7, 2022 -
Feminist Artists Marched for Reproductive Freedom in New York—and Are Taking the Message to Voters in Red States With a
Sarah Cascone, Artnet News, October 24, 2022 -
New Billboard Exhibition Features Work by Holly Ballard Martz
October 1, 2022 -
Public Display Art: Interview with Holly Ballard Martz
Public Display Art, September 1, 2022 -
AGENCY: Feminist Art & Power at the Museum of Sonoma County
January 2, 2022 -
New Exhibit Takes Aim At Gun Culture And Its Pathologies
ELEANOR J. BADER , The Indypendent, March 24, 2021 -
5 Seattle Artists You Should Be Following
Derek Haas, King 5 New Day Northwest, January 14, 2021 -
Dirty Laundry & Domestic Bliss Holly Ballard Martz at ZINC contemporary
Chloé Dye Sherpe, Art Access, November 11, 2020 -
Editor’s Notebook: Goddess power to get you through the election
Brangien Davis, Crosscut, October 22, 2020 -
Art as a Guarantee of Sanity: Interview with Holly Ballard Martz
Alicia Puig, Create Magazine, March 19, 2020 -
Opening night action at Seattle Art Fair
Brangien Davis, Crosscut, August 2, 2019 -
Check out ZINC’s Seattle Art Fair Booth #A37 until 8:00PM!
Seattle Post Intelligencer, August 1, 2019 -
Artist Holly Ballard Martz Creates Engrossing Visual Commentary
Lisa Edge, Real Change, July 24, 2019 -
Meet 12 Fierce Feminist Artists Who Marched in a Get Out the Vote Parade Ahead of Today’s Midterm Elections
Sarah Cascone, Artnet, November 6, 2018 -
"Danger Of Nostalgia": This Artist Bridges Past And Present To Send A Message About Abortion Rights
Amy Pleasant , Bust Magazine, September 1, 2018
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Biography
Holly Ballard Martz is a multidisciplinary artist who uses language and found objects to create iconic works about deeply felt social, political, and personal issues, including mental illness, gun violence, and reproductive rights. Her two-dimensional, sculptural, and installation-based practice includes casting, sewing, metalwork, and encaustic. She is the recipient of a McMillen Foundation Fellowship and an Artist Trust Grant for Artist Projects. Her large-scale installation danger of nostalgia in wallpaper form (in utero) is installed in the Bellevue Arts Museum Forum through winter 2022. Based in Seattle, Martz has exhibited nationally and her work is held in many private and public collections, including the Gates Foundation, the University of Washington, and the City of Seattle. She is represented by ZINC contemporary in Seattle WA.
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