FOUND:RE Contemporary and FOUND:RE Phoenix Hotel are excited to announce the opening of their newest exhibition, “Saguaros & Shards”. This exhibition cycle will present the work of Stacy Holmstedt, who works primarily in two mediums: acrylic paint and mosaics.
“Saguaros & Shards” is inspired by daily life in Arizona, highlighting iconic views and simple moments from the artist’s life. The exhibition will be hung in the studio space at FOUND:RE Phoenix. The space will double as a working studio for Holmstedt throughout the duration of the show, and guests can catch her painting and mosaicking weekly (schedule to follow). The exhibition opens to the public on October 6 and runs through December 31, 2023, with the opening reception on October 6, 6-9pm.
The exhibition will be presented as part of FOUND:RE Contemporary’s regular schedule of rotating exhibitions organized by curator Jordan Zurn. The works will be for sale in person and at foundrecontemporary.com.
Artist Biography:
Being a true Gemini, Stacy Holmstedt can’t just be happy doing one thing; it’s got to be two. Her “two things” are painting love letters to Arizona and making mosaic artworks. Based in Mesa, Arizona, she’s a software designer by trade and mostly self-taught in art.
Rather than creating consistently in the same style, Holmstedt prefers experimentation. She likes to work for months on a deep concentration piece, followed by a burst of loose gestural work. When she needs a break from painting, she’ll make a mosaic out of glass, beads, buttons. When she tires of nipping glass, it’s back to the easel. Fun fact: Holmstedt creates with “both sides of her brain”, because she paints with her left hand, and nips her mosaic pieces with her right.
Holmstedt also loves adding light-catching elements to her work: iridescent glass, crystals, gems, and glitter frequently show up.
Holmstedt’s pieces in “Saguaros and Shards” are inspired by daily life in Arizona – the horse ranch by her parents’ house in Dewey, the mission in Guadalupe that she used to drive by daily, the “Time for Pie” sign off I-17 on road trips up north. When she “sees a painting” or “sees a mosaic” outside, she’ll literally pull off the highway and start taking pictures with her camera phone. Holmstedt’s friends are used to her stopping dead in her tracks on a sidewalk and taking 30 pictures of a saguaro or an agave when the light is right.
She’s also inspired by Dolly Parton, because who among us is not?
Holmstedt’s been exhibiting in group shows around Arizona since 2016. FOUND:RE Contemporary is her debut solo show.