ArT
Jennifer Gay Holmes and her art at Casa Rosa
Jennifer Gay Holmes
Jennifer Gay Holmes (1944 - 2014) lived and worked at Casa Rosa between 1987 and 2014 where she produced most of her artwork inspired by the beauty of the Umbrian countryside and people.
Her work, mainly in oil, watercolour and mixed media, largely draws on the people, themes and landscapes of Casa Rosa, Assisi (Umbria, Italy), where she lived for thirty years.
After graduating from Ravensbourne College of Art in London, she attended an MA at Nottingham University Department of Fine Art while teaching at the Nottingham College of Art. During her early career she completed several study trips to the US (New York, Georgia) and worked on set design for off-Broadway theatre. In the following years, she also collaborated on productions with the Aldwych and the Royal Court Theatre in London. Working from a studio in Space, the first studio enterprise by Bridget Riley in St. Katherine’s Dock, her work focused mainly on sculpture and the production of works for films such as A Clockwork Orange.
Traveling extensively in the following years between the UK, Italy, France and Sweden ,Jennifer’s work centered on watercolour, drawing and painting, with an emphasis on portraiture and landscape. In 1994 she was commissioned by the Conventual Franciscans of Assisi to paint a companion piece to the 13th century Tavola of Santa Chiara, a work that has since been widely reproduced in books and guides to the life of St. Francis. Many commissions of various scales and in various media have followed from individuals and religious institutions around the world.
Much of her work is inspired by the Umbrian landscape and the people who inhabit and cultivate it throughout the seasons. Over the past 20 years her work has been exhibited widely both in group shows and solo exhibitions.