Since she was eight years old, the artist Sari Holland found in the art a form of expression that has accompanied her throughout her life. From his first works in oil and charcoal under the guidance of the teacher Antonio Madrid He went on to train in the United States, combine teaching with his artistic career and take his works to international stages.
His last work, ‘Victory of the 23rd’which addresses his feelings about the citizen mobilizations against the 2023 mining contractwas acquired by an art gallery in Copenhagen (Denmark). Today, after participating in biennials of Chelsea (United Kingdom) and Chianciano (Italy)reflects on the evolution of his work, the role of women in art and the search for a connection with the viewer that can transcend time.
Since when did your relationship with art begin?
Since the age of eight. My mother has photos of me appearing in the newspaper because from that age she already knew that I was good at art and that I had a skill.
She put me in Art and Culture Center. Back then, the teacher was the great teacher Antonio Madrid. He was my first teacher. At the age of ten I was already painting in oils, then I worked with charcoal and participated in my first Citibank competition. I mean, from that age I was into art.
Then I went to Balboa High School to study and I had very good teachers. The teacher David Young He was fantastic and also guided me and gave me tools to improve my technique.
Then I went to study Texas A&M and I got my degree in Plastic Arts. I also minored in secondary education and literature. I had education and teaching as my specialization.
My dad told me: ‘Well, you can be an artist, but anything, you’re young, you can have another profession; you have to have something more.’ I said, ‘Well, I love education too.” I felt like I had a really good connection with teenagers when I had to teach them art for the first time. So I majored in secondary education and then got a master’s degree in educational psychology.
That’s where I started. Then I came to Panama and had my first exhibition when I was super young. I remember that the then mayor Mayin Correa He was even the one who cut the ribbon. Imagine, he cut the ribbon for my first exhibition when I was bald.
Then I had my first child. I have four children and I continued in teaching. First I started working at school International School of Panamawhere I did Advanced Placement programs. I worked there for seven years and then I left to Balboa Academy. I have been working in your Advanced Placement program for 25 years.
A little before the pandemic I had participated in other exhibitions, but they were collective. They invited me to exhibitions in different places, such as the Union Club and activities organized by Guadalupana Ladies.
Finally, thank God, I had the opportunity to do my first big exhibition at the National Bank. There were around 16 works and many were sold. After that I also participated in several exhibitions outside. A curator from Madrid contacted me and I appeared in the magazine Great International Art Yearbook. That was my first connection outside, in Spain.
Then they invited me to Italy and I had the honor of having a work that was sold there. I did it three times: once in the National Museum of 21st Century Artsin Milan (Italy), and then another in Genoa. I had my exhibitions outside and I said, ‘You know what? My work sells very well abroad.’
Here in Panama I also had my exhibitions and, thank God, I put some works in the Image Gallery and I also had works in the Marcorama galleries. But one has to continue. The artist is always changing his style.
You start in a style and you change. This is how my brand as an artist has evolved. There are works that are a little clearer and you can breathe a little more; others are more chaotic, stronger and more charged.
Holland had the opportunity to participate in different art biennials such as Chelsea (United Kingdom) and Chianciano (Italy).
Are your works a mirror of reality?
Yes, what I feel. Sometimes I paint for myself.
That’s why I say that my work is not just to hang. They are works that have beautiful colors, they are warm; some breathe more than others, some are more chaotic and others are stronger. I always try to also look for that balance in the technical part.
Initially, it always starts up as something I’m watching. I think that’s part of my subconscious. In ‘Victory of the 23rd’ I was sitting and started doing something without knowing what I was going to do. So, when working on the mark and throwing away the brush, I look for the shapes.
I think in my subconscious I’m finding ways that may seem figurative, but it’s not on purpose. I do it unconsciously. It’s something that’s coming.
Suddenly they tell me: “Oh, but there is a face of a person” or “this has a little monkey here.” And I say, “Well, I don’t know. If that’s what you see, I love it.” Because, in truth, the work seeks for you to make that connection with it.
That for me is the most important thing. If a work makes me very happy and makes me happy, but not you, you can still have that connection. At the end of the day, the work is for you to admire.
Throughout your career you have had the opportunity to meet female artists such as Olga Sinclair and Coqui Calderón. Through those interactions and your own experience, do you think there has been a progressive opening for women in the field of Panamanian contemporary art or are we still on a path that needs to be taken?
Yes we have made progress in Panama in opening the door to women artistsbut I feel like sometimes there is also that stigma that, if you are a woman, you have to paint a certain way. Or that your work has to be feminine. And what is feminine in a work of art?
I am one of those who thinks that your work of art does not matter if it is masculine or feminine. The work of art is a work of art. The feminine or masculine part does not matter. If it’s a well-crafted piece of art and it affects you, that’s what’s important.
We must remove those barriers to all womenso that they do not have that fear that this work is very strong, very loaded or that, suddenly, it does not fall into what people think a work should be. In Panama I think we have to start letting go. Let the artist, whether man or woman, paint what they feel.
The woman has to dare to do what she feels and, if you have the studio and the academy behind you, you can do whatever you want. There is no limit to what a woman can do.just like a man.
In the end it’s about being who you are. You have to allow that freedom and not put a genre on the work..
Artist Sari Holland’s portfolio is characterized by its variety, which is reflected in both the themes and her color palette.
In the history of art we have seen cases of women artists whose works were overshadowed and did not receive the same credit as their male peers.
Yes it’s true. I feel that men also have to be a little more humble and say: ‘Come on, if you have a woman at the same technical and artistic level as you, recognize it.’
Here in Panama there are tremendous women artists. It is also up to male artists to recognize that they exist and give them the best recognition.
Do you think there is still this tendency to elevate men in the art world above women?
Yes. It is not that it necessarily overshadows the woman artist, but they simply are not going to give her the same recognition.
That struck me very much: that there were women in art history whose works are being discovered now and who, during Picasso’s time or a little before, had husbands who were renowned artists, while what they did either had the husband’s name or did not receive the same value.
Of course, they were other times. Now I do feel that they are opening more doors to women, giving them that merit and recognition. Today we are more open. Little by little we are getting there, and that is the most important thing.
and all these biennials They are also very important to give visibility of women artists. Also, I think you have to look for the best teacher, you have to educate yourself, keep painting, working and improving yourself, improving your skills.
That is something that everyone, every human being, needs. For me the academy The technical study part is also very important. It’s not a one-day thing, it’s about hard work.
What does it mean to you to be a teacher?
The truth is that I love motivating my students. My students keep me young.
I like to see what they are doing, help them, guide them and see them be successful. Many have done very well in life, or find their niche in art.
Has finding the right people on your path helped you become who you are today?
Yes, definitely. Finding the right people on your path is very important.
I have to say that, first of all, I want to be very grateful to my family.
My dad has always been a great educator. He was director of Balboa for many years. My mom has also always supported me.
Art is not something that, suddenly, all the parents tell you: “Go on, study, you’re going to be an artist.” But since I was little, my parents knew that that was where I was going and they gave me the tools, the classes and the best teachers to be able to improve.
They helped me become an artist, to appreciate art and to know that for me art was the most important thing. I say that God also puts people in front of you.
I also bet that women artists support each other also. That’s very important. Not only that: that men also support female artists, because we also support them.
It is very important that we all support each other more, because at the end of the day We are all from Panama and we all represent Panama.
