Domestic Bliss At The San Juan Islands Museum of Art : a solo exhibition of works by Holly Ballard Martz

“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 for women’s equality in the intervening years, and this is a milestone to be celebrated, yet we are far from a level playing field. It is estimated that it will take an additional two hundred years to eliminate the gender pay gap. Reproductive rights are in jeopardy, maternal mortality is on the rise, and globally 75% of unpaid work is done by women. This labor falls primarily within the domestic sphere. Domestic Bliss transforms objects associated with domestic labor, traditionally the purview of women, and supplants their original purpose and highlights obstacles which impede the quest for gender equality.” 

 

– Holly Ballard Martz

  • Featured Works

    • Holly Ballard Martz, Danger of Nostalgia (in wallpaper form) - SJIMA Installation, 2020
      Holly Ballard Martz, Danger of Nostalgia (in wallpaper form) - SJIMA Installation, 2020
    • Holly Ballard Martz, Lady Madonna, 2020
      Holly Ballard Martz, Lady Madonna, 2020 Sold
    • Holly Ballard Martz, Double Crossed Since Birth, 2018
      Holly Ballard Martz, Double Crossed Since Birth, 2018
    • Holly Ballard Martz, Power Grid, 2018
      Holly Ballard Martz, Power Grid, 2018
    • Holly Ballard Martz, Old Growth, 2020
      Holly Ballard Martz, Old Growth, 2020 Sold
    • Holly Ballard Martz, Objects in the Mirror are Closer Than They Appear (Sexist), 2019
      Holly Ballard Martz, Objects in the Mirror are Closer Than They Appear (Sexist), 2019
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    “I spent weeks painstakingly bending hundreds of wire coat hangers into the likeness of the female reproductive system, an exercise in endurance for my hands and a representation of the slow and painful trudge towards full reproductive rights for women in America. I layered and stacked men’s detachable shirt collars as stand-ins for institutionalized sexism.”

     

    – Holly Ballard Martz
    • Holly Ballard Martz, Love Hurts (Love You To Death), 2019
      Holly Ballard Martz, Love Hurts (Love You To Death), 2019
    • Holly Ballard Martz, Prime Cuts - Select, 2020
      Holly Ballard Martz, Prime Cuts - Select, 2020
    • Holly Ballard Martz, Women's Work Is Never Done (Gilded Age) - framed, 2019
      Holly Ballard Martz, Women's Work Is Never Done (Gilded Age) - framed, 2019
    • Holly Ballard Martz, Ensnared, 2020
      Holly Ballard Martz, Ensnared, 2020
    • Holly Ballard Martz, Domestic Bliss, 2020
      Holly Ballard Martz, Domestic Bliss, 2020 Reserved
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    “Thousands of sequins have been affixed to forms typically used in the construction and pressing of garments, morphing them into glittering body parts and cuts of meat, as women’s bodies are often reduced to decoration and objects of desire. I deliberately chose to work with materials and processes long considered the female domain as a reminder that with every prick of the pin and curve of the wire, women’s work is truly never done.”
     
    – Holly Ballard Martz
  • “One of our goals at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art is to lift others through education. To shine light where it is needed. Using everyday objects such as an ironing board and clothes hangers, Holly has created artwork which fosters contemplation of history, while acknowledging attention where it is still required. Holly’s artwork lulls one in with beauty while creating an undercurrent of unease. Her work naturally fosters conversations from this juxtaposition. We at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art appreciate conversations.”
    – Peter Lane, SJIMA DOE