[ 專訪 ] Soft Geometry：澳洲藝術家Holly Terry 以色彩書寫抽象的生命片刻，凝結能量的流動
Holly Terry (Photo Credit: Holly Terry )
-
Some images are not defined by clear boundaries but emerge gradually through layers of color.
They have no fixed narrative, yet move with an inner rhythm; no predetermined structure, yet hold their own distinct character. To observe them is to follow the movement of an unseen current.This is how Holly Terry’s works unfold. They appear soft but carry a quiet structural strength. Instead of outlining forms with lines, she builds her compositions through layers of pigment, allowing each painting to form naturally. Her images are at once blurred and precise, fluid and composed. They convey both motion and stillness. On her canvas, color becomes ornament and language, something that lies between sensation and structure, guided by intuition and sustained by the tension between blending and dissolving.
Soft Geometry encapsulates her approach. Terry treats color as structure but resists the idea of a definitive finish. Each piece lingers in a state of becoming. As she describes, these paintings are translations of energy and moments in which time briefly takes form. What viewers see is often less about her intention than what they themselves are ready to feel.
Photo Credit: Holly Terry
-
Holly Terry is a self-taught artist and art and design writer based on the Sunshine Coast, Australia. Working primarily on large-scale canvases, she translates the emotions and energy of lived experience into vivid abstractions through gestural strokes and delicate layering. Her artistic journey took a pivotal turn after relocating from Melbourne to the Sunshine Coast. The move not only reshaped her way of life but also infused her work with brighter tones, more open brushwork, and a renewed exploration of depth, form, and color.
Beyond painting, Holly engages with the creative community through writing, sharing her distinct perspectives on art and design. Her words and paintings carry a similar sense of rhythm and vitality, two parallel threads leading to the same core idea: art is both a process of self-discovery and a shared experience of perception.
Photo Credit: Holly Terry
-
Q：Your paintings often feel suspended—between form and fluidity. When you begin a work, do you start with a visual anchor or let it unfold?
Holly:
Although my works are mostly abstract, I usually begin with a visual or written anchor that reflects my mood, a circumstance, or a phrase I have been thinking about. Many of these starting points represent my life at that moment. I often paint the canvas with words first or with small stick figures of people, animals, or houses, whatever comes to mind.From there, the work gradually becomes more abstract, almost like working backwards and taking literal meaning away. I prefer when my paintings remain ambiguous because it allows the audience to experience not necessarily what they want to feel but what they need to. I believe art always reflects the viewer.
My own emotions and energy are present in each piece, but I find it difficult to explain them verbally. I do not want to tell people what the work is about. I want them to sense the energy themselves.
-
Q：Colour seems to be your primary structure. Do you see colour as emotion, atmosphere, or something more architectural?
Holly:
To be honest, I do not give colour much thought until after the work is finished, and even then, perhaps not that much. Once I have given the piece a written or visual anchor, the real painting begins. During that process, there is very little conscious thought. I choose colours intuitively, almost carelessly, and they often blend into hundreds of different shades as I paint quickly. It is difficult for me to replicate a piece for this reason.When the work is complete, I like to take in the emotion of it. I suppose colour gives part of that feeling, but it also comes from mark making and movement. To me, colour is both emotional and atmospheric.
Photo Credit: Holly Terry
-
Q：Many of your works have no hard edges, yet the shapes feel precise. How do you negotiate between clarity and softness?
Holly:
Negotiation is a good word. It really is a negotiation. As I mentioned earlier, my works begin with literal meaning and then move away from it, which often involves removing hard edges and defined shapes. This usually happens in the early stages because it is difficult to add later on.The process is about working with the painting, layer after layer, until it reaches a point that feels complete. It is not always a feeling of ease or visual satisfaction. Sometimes the piece can feel tense, and that is fine. There is simply a sense of knowing when it is finished. Once I reach that point, I mentally label the work as done and move on.
-
Q：Texture and density shift subtly across each painting. What does layering mean to you—not just visually, but in terms of time or memory?
Holly:
Sometimes my paintings have many layers, with older works underneath that still carry a kind of energy. In that sense, layering does represent time and memory. These days, though, most of my works are painted alla prima, meaning wet on wet. This approach removes the idea of time and memory and instead focuses on nuance, depth, and the quiet complexity of the story within each piece.
Photo Credit: Holly Terry
-
Q：Is repetition part of your rhythm, or do you prefer to approach each piece without a known sequence?
Holly:
I have certain anchors that I return to from time to time, the same ones I have used in past paintings. If you looked at twenty of my works, you would probably notice some repetition among them, especially those created in the same period. However, most of my pieces do not follow a planned sequence. It is difficult to do because I often cannot remember how I painted them. When I am truly creating, I am usually in a deep flow state. As the painting starts to take shape, the flow always returns.
Photo Credit: Holly Terry
-
Q：Your work feels quiet and unhurried. Does painting tend to unfold slowly for you, or are there moments where decisions arrive all at once?
Holly:
Definitely not slow. I would not say decision-making is really part of my process either. As I mentioned earlier, most of my works are painted alla prima, which means wet on wet and usually completed in a single sitting. If not, they are finished within two or three sessions while I move between other pieces.This method naturally supports an intuitive approach. My mind is often attuned to sensory surroundings during this time — the music, thoughts about life, or sometimes a meditative stillness where I am not really thinking at all.
Q：How do you imagine your viewer? Do you hope they walk toward the canvas? Pause? Look closely? Drift?Holly:
It is not really my business what a viewer does with my work or how they think of it once a piece is finished. Of course, it is always lovely and affirming to receive kind messages or words of support. Interestingly, though, I often feel quite uncomfortable during exhibition openings when I see people looking at my work. It feels like an intimate moment that belongs to them, one I am not sure I should witness. Maybe that is just a kind of insecurity, but I prefer to let that space remain theirs.
-
Q：When people ask you what your paintings are “about,” how do you tend to respond?
Holly:
I recently wrote a synopsis for a body of work that sums it up perfectly. When I begin a series, there is rarely a clear starting point. It feels like diving into a pool without testing the temperature first. Months of painting blur together, and by the end I can hardly tell which way is up or how many pieces I have made.It might sound unconventional to say I start without a concept, but that is the truth. My process is a subconscious stream of non-verbal dialogue between myself and the material. The message only reveals itself afterwards, not through words but through energy. These paintings are not about language; they are reflections of energy and consciousness.
I do not want to tell anyone how to feel about them or what to take away. When I look back, I see a sense of playfulness intertwined with a revelation of energy, all born from a very full and very real life. I hope viewers can sense that. My wish is that these paintings evoke something genuine, whatever it needs to be, and that they reflect all parts of life — the light and heavy, the joyful and difficult, the beautiful mess of simply being here.
-
Q：Your work holds a strong interiority, almost like it records a quiet state. Do you think of painting as something introspective—or relational?
Holly:
Painting is certainly introspective for me. Yet I do not always understand what that means until I have time to reflect on the energy of the work once it is complete. While the process feels deeply inward, my hope is that it also becomes relational for the viewer. I want my paintings to evoke a feeling that is entirely their own, something not connected to me but to their own sense of being.
Q：Finally, are there any materials, references, or daily experiences that are currently shaping your work in unexpected ways?Holly:
Just life itself. In the earlier stages of my painting career, moments of honesty often felt unexpected, probably because I was not yet sure what I wanted to say. These days they come more naturally. I have learned to let each painting be free enough to end up where it needs to go.As for materials, it has been a while since I experimented with anything new, and I think it is about time. I have some exciting projects coming up that will likely lead me into a new period of exploration.
Photo Credit: Holly Terry
Photo Credit: Holly Terry
-
Holly Terry’s practice moves along the threshold between intuition and energy. She does not confine her work within language, but invites viewers to find their own sense of resonance before the canvas. This openness allows her paintings to exist not merely as images, but as currents of energy, breathing in rhythm with life itself.
Through her unique creative process, Holly reveals how art becomes a dialogue with life. As she describes, each painting is a condensation of time, waiting for the viewer to interpret it through personal feeling and to find a quiet sense of connection somewhere between clarity and obscurity.
Photo Credit: Holly Terry