Holly Leonardson

Holly Leonardson is a visual artist currently residing in Newcastle, and has been working with collage-based concepts for over ten years. Her practice spans both handmade and digital collages, often extending to craft-based jewellery, textiles and small sculptural objects that maintain a focus on the assemblage of found imagery and materials. Holly’s work is guided by a playful, material-led process and an enthusiasm for frequent studio experimentation. She considers the collage and assemblage process as being fundamental to her way of working and thinking.

The main themes in Holly’s work reflect her interest in handcrafted objects and the making process, collections and collecting, surface and body adornment, domestic spaces and the natural environment. Drawn to the uninhibited nature of childlike mark-making and the balance of immediate and labour intense methods of creation, Holly’s work has often been described by others as joyous, meticulous, detailed and colourful.

Holly graduated from the University of Tasmania in 2015 with a Bachelor of Contemporary Art and has lived in four different states along the Australian east coast, seeking inspiration from bush walks and found objects. She currently works from a studio at Onwards Gallery crammed with beautiful old books.