Intangible Expression with Hollis Heichemer

Hollis Heichemer in her studio with a work-in-progress.

In Hollis Heichemer’s abstracts, broad swaths of moody blue and ethereal green smash up against sharp chunks of pink, orange and lilac. The strokes undulate and then cease, giving each painting a sense of wild activity tinged with calm.

“I think what I’m trying to capture is a kind of delight of our experience as humans and how we get to open up to that,” says Heichemer. “And I pull inspiration from the natural landscape around me.”

Heichemer lives and works in the White Mountain region of Northern New Hampshire, but her journey began in her hometown of Binghamton, New York.

“I’ve always taken art classes, but when I went to college, I just had a sense from my family that I should get practical.” After studying business as an undergrad in Ohio, she received a master’s in education from Seton Hall University. “ I was trying to put my beliefs and what I feel is important into some kind of action, but I realized I don’t like teaching,” says Heichemer. “So I decided I would rather help people in another way, which turned out to be through my art.”

After spending some years in Philadephia with her new husband, whom she met at an artist residency in Vermont, the couple began visiting New Hampshire. “We started staying in the summer for one month, and gradually, we bought some land and built a house until we just didn’t want to go back to Philly,” says Heichemer. “We wanted to stay here.”

The artist senses that people want to be in New Hampshire because “what they are experiencing here opens up something in them. A greater sense of beauty and the joy of living.”

This deep well of contentment mingled with vibrancy is what Heichemer strives to convey in her work. “Painting can take you to places that are harder to express in real life,” she says. “We are not always open in our day-to-day lives, so I hope my work allows others to examine what moves and inspires them.”

After beginning her career using acrylics, Heichemer now typically paints with oils, although she occasionally puts pencil to paper as well. “Sometimes there is a stream of consciousness, and you want to get something down right away,” she says. “There’s an immediacy to paper and a pencil that fits.”

Heichemer’s work has been shown throughout the Northeast, in California, Ireland and Italy. Her solo exhibitions in New York City and Philadelphia have been numerous and always well received. She recently presented a new series of paintings entitled “Tumbling Through Space” at the Hollis Taggart Gallery in Manhattan, where she is regularly represented. Heichemer will also be showing at the Armory Show fair in New York City in early September.

Meanwhile, the artist continues to draw from the volatile splendor outside her door and share her perception with others. “I’m really happy when I can connect someone to their own experience,” she says. “My paintings are not really about me telling you what I saw, particularly. Rather, it’s me reminding you of what beauty you saw when you were out and about.”

For more information, visit hollisheichemer.com.