One must not look too fast at Holder’s visionary landscapes. At a casual glance they are exceedingly simple and direct. But like entering a darkened room, the eyes need time to adjust. Then the viewer notices surfaces that are rich in nuance, similar to but even more subtle than James McNeill Whistler’s tonalist nocturnes or shoreline studies. One feels in each work spiritual essences waiting to be comprehended. How the viewer submits his or her own temperament, experience, and reservoir of associations to the query of those essences is the mystic adventure.

Kathleen Holder Pastel Drawings
William T. Henning, Curator of Art
The Arkansas Arts Center