Today we’d like to introduce you to Holly Perez.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I never envisioned myself to be on this path as an artist and an educator. I took art in high school, but with the lack of resources, I had no idea there were different avenues and careers for artists. After graduating I figured I would work retail and move up in management. My mom is actually the one who signed me up for community college, and I attended Mt. San Antonio College for five years. During that time, I just drifted and took art classes because I thrived off the pressure of deadlines and pulling all-nighters. I had enough credits to graduate with my Associates in Fine Arts and transferred to Cal State Fullerton. I was at CSUF for about 4 years and started to take art seriously. I had great professors and mentors who pushed me to try installation and paint large, and I took off. I didn’t plan on going to grad school, but if it wasn’t for Rebecca Campbell putting my future into perspective for me and telling me that I wasn’t done telling my story, I would probably still be in retail. I took a year off after graduating with my BFA in Drawing and Painting. I attended Claremont Graduate University during the pandemic and met my amazing mentors and best art friends. Around this time, I realized that as a brown Chicana woman, I had the privilege to use my work to bring the issues of the culture to light. After graduating with my MFA, I was offered a position to teach at Santa Monica College. I’ve been teaching at SMC since 2022, and I love my job. I love sharing my work, techniques, process, fellow artists, movements and hold a space for my students to express themselves and have enlightening conversations. I’m blessed to be able to teach and work on my own art and grow as an artist and an educator.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The struggles have been real! With imposter syndrome, resources, working and going to school, commuting, artist block, etc. I never struggled to make work; it’s always been articulating the why. Why am I creating, why am I talking about this, it this too personal, am I sharing too much, how do I say all this without rambling? To be honest, I still struggle. I’m at this point where it is what it is, and I let the conversations flow naturally.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My work comes from my life experiences. I talk about the adversities I’ve endured in my culture and as a brown woman in society. Through my installations, I’m confrontational in addressing issues such as body dysmorphia, gender molds/expectations, addiction, alcoholism, compromised safe spaces, traumatic memories, vicarious traumas, stereotypes, the list goes on. What I’ve been focused on recently is painting in white house paint, terrible statements that have been said to me on the back of flannels. These flannels act as a skin, taking the blow of these statements while reflecting back what’s been said.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Message me on Instagram! @artbyhollyp. I’m always down to collaborate and ramble on about ideas.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @artbyhollyp
