Barbara Holmes

Barbara Holmes is a sculptor and furniture maker that creates intricate and complex forms and site-specific installations. Utilizing waste materials from the city dump and other waste streams, Holmes’ work consists of recycled materials such as wood, mirror, and foam which highlight her attention to detail in form, pattern, and color. She is best known for her large installation pieces composed of carefully stacked and assembled wood lath. 

Born in Southern California, Holmes attended Brigham Young University, UT where she received her B.F.A. (1993) and later attended San Diego State University, CA where she received her M.F.A. (2002). In her practice, Holmes strives to work more instinctively, reactively, and swiftly, and intends for those that view her work to analyze the materials used and reevaluate their ideas as they discover more about the piece. Holmes, with an extensive teaching background, having once served as an adjunct professor and associate professor at several institutions, is currently teaching at Saddleback College, CA as an associate professor.

Holmes has been the recipient of honors and residencies including the Alfreda Maloof Scholarship, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, CO (2001);artist-in-residence at Recology (SF Recycling and Disposal), San Francisco, CA, (2008); and artist-in-residence, Facebook, Inc. Menlo Park, CA (2013). Holmes’ work can be found in the collections of the Nepal Academy, Kathmandu, Nepal; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA; Recology (SF Recycling and Disposal), San Francisco, CA; and SAP Industries, Palo Alto, CA.

Barbara Holmes, Curl, 2012. The re-contextualization of commonplace, timeworn materials is the heart of Holmes’ work, in which she reveals the layers of meaning that these worn materials carry through detail-oriented craftsmanship. “Using reclaimed material that is often untidy and muddled in its appearance and redeeming it into a carefully crafted object is a pleasurable part of my process.”
Barbara Holme, Curl, 2012