Chris Holley is an abstract/figurative graduate artist, DNA and a strong dance/choreographic background means my visual art practice is inspired and informed by elements of dance and music. And if a painting of mine doesn’t start off being about either of these two vibrant arts, it will certainly end up being about them.
After the enforced silencing of all the arts during Covid, I sensed a flowering of the arts, which I wanted to be a part of. This led me to propose and feature, with another artist, in Feeling the Beat at major arts centre, South Hill Park – a project which aims to bring all the arts together in arts fusion events and workshops.
A frequent exhibitor of my art, a painting of mine was notably selected for 2013 Discerning Eye by abstract painter Albert Irvin and I later won international Art Jazzed Up competition, selection by Trinity School, Croydon and associated musicians. My art which is also to be found in private collections in the UK, the USA and Spain.
My specialist subject is the huge impact of Ballets Russes on visual art, my writings on which you’ll find in the National Library of Art at London’s V&A and at major arts bodies here and overseas. I now give illustrated talks on this absorbing topic as well as on the flow of inspiration between the arts.