Mutabilis, an exhibition of new works by Tom Hollenback, will be on display March 23 - May 4 at William Campbell Contemporary Art. An opening reception will be held on Spring Gallery Night, Saturday, March 23, 11:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. Mutabilis will feature Hollenback's minimal, luminescent acrylic sculptures, in addition to paint- and photograph-based pieces that reveal the artist's interest in transforming traditionally two-dimensional media into three-dimensional works of art.

Flat acrylic panels, cast and poured acrylic paint, and flatbed scanner-generated images coexist in this body of work, which explores how sculpture, drawing, painting, and photography can intersect. Additionally, Hollenback's works address ideas about space and how these various media can activate that space.

"Exploration of paint in three-dimensional formats is at the core of this body of my work," remarks Hollenback. This concept is perhaps most evident in his series of Volumetric Paintings, in which the artist casts acrylic paint as abstracted, architectonic forms. What the artist has called the "sculptor's version of paint," these pieces allow the paint to occupy the viewer's space completely. No longer a vehicle for other imagery, the paint itself becomes the subject matter. Often retaining pieces of their wooden molds, these sculptures conjure elements of chance, spontaneity, and kinetic energy as well.

Hollenback's explorations also include a series of "portraits," which contain images captured with a flatbed scanner on aluminum panels propped against the wall. Fabricated to the height of each subject (only the face is apparent), the panels are coated in poured paint, which gently falls down the panel to create a series of soft, translucent layers. Thus, the subject becomes veiled and abstracted, his identity elusive and his presence ethereal. The three-dimensional portraits present an engaging juxtaposition of the figurative and nonrepresentational, and according to the artist, "...inhabit an area situated at the confluence of photography, painting, and sculpture."

The most straightforward sculptural work in the show, Hollenback's Channels, consist of fluorescent, geometric acrylic forms atop steel panels. When combined, these materials work together to achieve high visual impact through minimal form and color. The dynamic, brilliant structures glow from within, reaching past their hard edges and engaging the viewer both visually and physically. Even these quintessential sculptures loosely refer to two-dimensional artwork, recalling pieces of the omnipresent grid-albeit inflated and breaking through the vertical plane. As noted in an essay by Suzanne Deats: "Their brilliant edges are expansive rather than limiting; their interface with the environment is a line of demarcation that celebrates the freedom of intellectual inquiry."

Collectively, Mutabilis highlights Hollenback's recent studio practices, which traverse the spectrum of his creative process, resulting in a thought-provoking and prolific collection of mixed-media sculpture.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Tom Hollenback has exhibited work across Texas, in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. He has also participated in one-person and group shows throughout the United States, in California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Wisconsin. International venues have included Italy and Norway. His work has been featured in various exhibition catalogues and publications, including American Style, ARTnews, the Austin American-Statesman, the Austin Chronicle, Contemporanea, the Dallas Morning News, Dallas Observer, San Antonio Express-News, Southern Accents, and Fort Worth's Star-Telegram, among others.

Hollenback has received various awards, including artist residencies in Washington State and Norway; a grant from the Artists' Fellowship in New York City; and fellowships from the Vermont Studio Colony and the Millay Colony for the Arts in Austerlitz, New York. He completed a commissioned piece titled Sky Across in Tokyo.

Tom Hollenback received an MFA in sculpture from the University of Texas at San Antonio.