Leslie Holt

b. 1969, Bethesda, MD
My recent work explores the often private states of extreme emotion caused by war, loss and/or mental illness. I use embroidery thread to draw and create chunks of color in combination with acrylic stains of saturated hues. The act of stitching is intimate and tender, in contrast to the stains that emphasize the unruly quality of these vulnerable states.
It's a Matter of Definition
It's a Matter of Definition

Leslie Holt is well known for paintings that encourage discourse with topics of psychology and mental illness, commercialism and socio-economic divides. She employs unconventional juxtapositions, alluring use of color and contrast, and elements of irony to provoke commentary and emotional response. Most recently, she explores depictions of grief and triumph in embroidered paintings inspired by Picasso’s Guernica. Her compositions on raw canvas contain elemental clouds of acrylic pigment that, like water or blood, pool and drip around embroidered female bodies borrowed from her source painting. The haunting stains represent these women’s tumultuous interior worlds, while her stunning Technicolor palette and graphic lines partially disguise an even darker reality of pain and vulnerability. Transcending boundaries of time or place, each figure represents a shared reality and breadth of symbolism both for Holt and for her audience.

Leslie Holt is from Bethesda, Maryland and in 2012 returned to the DC metro area after living in St. Louis for 20 years. She received a BFA in Painting at Washington University in St. Louis and an MFA in Painting at Washington State University in Pullman, WA. Leslie has taught studio art, art history and art appreciation on the college level since 2001. She has also worked as a social worker and advocate for people with developmental disabilities, mental illness, and people receiving welfare benefits. Currently she is Co-director of Red Dirt Studio, a warehouse studio for a group of independently practicing artists and creative professionals. Her years-long project, Hello Masterpiece, has been collected by hundreds of Hello Kitty loving art collectors world-wide.

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It's a Matter of Definition
It's a Matter of Definition
It's a Matter of Definition (detail)
It's a Matter of Definition (detail)
World Book (not sure of anything)
World Book (not sure of anything)
World Book (not sure of anything) detail
World Book (not sure of anything) detail
World Book II(Mon 8:45)
World Book II(Mon 8:45)
World Book II (Mon 8:45) detail
World Book II (Mon 8:45) detail
Flight of Ideas
Flight of Ideas
Flight of Ideas (detail)
Flight of Ideas (detail)
Flight of Ideas (detail 2)
Flight of Ideas (detail 2)
Perfect Night
Perfect Night
Perfect Night (detail)
Perfect Night (detail)
Pushed Speech
Pushed Speech
Pushed Speech (detail)
Pushed Speech (detail)
Hang in There (oxy log)
Hang in There (oxy log)
Hang in There (oxy log) detail
Hang in There (oxy log) detail
Unspeakable (hysterical arc in the weeds)
Unspeakable (hysterical arc in the weeds)
Tango Time
Tango Time
Tango Time (detail 1)
Tango Time (detail 1)
Tango Time (detail 2)
Tango Time (detail 2)
This Body. That Body.
This Body. That Body.
It's a Matter of Definition
It's a Matter of Definition
embroidery and acrylic on canvas, 48x60
2025
It's a Matter of Definition (detail)
It's a Matter of Definition (detail)
embroidery and acrylic on canvas, 48x60
2025
World Book (not sure of anything)
World Book (not sure of anything)
embroidery on raw canvas, 48x36
2024
World Book (not sure of anything) detail
World Book (not sure of anything) detail
embroidery on raw canvas, 48x36
2024
World Book II(Mon 8:45)
World Book II(Mon 8:45)
embroidery on raw canvas, 48x36
2024
World Book II (Mon 8:45) detail
World Book II (Mon 8:45) detail
embroidery on raw canvas, 48x36
2024
Flight of Ideas
Flight of Ideas
embroidery and acrylic on canvas, 48x60
2023
Flight of Ideas (detail)
Flight of Ideas (detail)
embroidery and acrylic on canvas, 48x60
2023
Flight of Ideas (detail 2)
Flight of Ideas (detail 2)
embroidery and acrylic on canvas, 48x60
2023
Perfect Night
Perfect Night
embroidery and acrylic on canvas, 48x60
2023
Perfect Night (detail)
Perfect Night (detail)
embroidery and acrylic on canvas, 48x60
2023
Pushed Speech
Pushed Speech
embroidery and acrylic on canvas, 48x60
2023
Pushed Speech (detail)
Pushed Speech (detail)
embroidery and acrylic on canvas, 48x60
2023
Hang in There (oxy log)
Hang in There (oxy log)
acrylic and embroidery on canvas, 36x24
2022
Hang in There (oxy log) detail
Hang in There (oxy log) detail
acrylic and embroidery on canvas, 36x24
2022
Unspeakable (hysterical arc in the weeds)
Unspeakable (hysterical arc in the weeds)
emboridery and acrylic on canvas, 30x40
2022
Tango Time
Tango Time
acrylic and embroidery on canvas, 36x36
2022
Tango Time (detail 1)
Tango Time (detail 1)
acrylic and embroidery on canvas, 36x36
2022
Tango Time (detail 2)
Tango Time (detail 2)
acrylic and embroidery on canvas, 36x36
2022
This Body. That Body.
This Body. That Body.
embroidery and acrylic on canvas, 36x36
2022

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