Holly Hughes
Holly Hughes is a frequent Ranch faculty member and professor emeritus of painting at Rhode Island School of Design. Having exhibited nationally and internationally, Hughes’ painting has been greatly influenced by both ceramic and printmaking practice and research. She loves “Salon Style” installations—the mixing of these genres on the wall—such as BLAZON created for the Dorsky Museum. Her most recent exhibit was “Salad Days” at Pamela Salisbury Gallery in 2024.
Holly's Links:
Holly's Upcoming Workshops
-
IV
Level IV
Students have advanced skill and knowledge of painting and drawing. Students are highly motivated and self-directed, have a minimum of five years experience in their field and have multiple portfolios of their artwork. Portfolio review is required for admittance to some Level IV classes.
Aug 11 - 15, 2025
9AM - 5PM
Advanced Mentored Studies: Topics in Painting: Studio Practice and Critique
Shahzia Sikander, Holly Hughes
Tuition $2,730
Code D1124-25
This three-year advanced mentorship program encourages students to push their studio practice. Working at a rigorous pace, engaging in critical dialogue with the group and with the instructors in individual critique, artists refine and expand their investigations. Wide-ranging topics include concept and approach to contemporary art practice as well as technical and material explorations. Students are expected to work independently with the support of their class peers and instructors, raising the ambition of their own studio goals. Although primarily a painting workshop, participation by installation artists and other artists working across media is encouraged. The goal of the series is for students to gain community, develop insight into their work and, through discussion, challenge themselves to reflect on their artistic intentions. 2025 is the first year of this three-year intensive program. In the subsequent two years of the program, the cohort meets in-person at Anderson Ranch from August 10th - 14th, 2026 and August 16th - 20th, 2027. Over the course of the program, there are group and one-on-one meetings via Zoom in March and October of each year. The final meeting is via Zoom in October 2027. Tuition listed is the program cost per year. TO APPLY: Applications for enrollment are accepted on a rolling basis. To apply, please fill out the 2025 Advanced Mentored Studies Online Application Form. This is a rolling application with a priority deadline of Monday, February 3rd.
-
III
Level III
Students have formal training in critical issues of 2-D art making, experience with public critiques and a solid portfolio of their artwork.
-
IV
Level IV
Students have advanced skill and knowledge of painting and drawing. Students are highly motivated and self-directed, have a minimum of five years experience in their field and have multiple portfolios of their artwork. Portfolio review is required for admittance to some Level IV classes.
Aug 18 - 22, 2025
9AM-5PM
Abstraction: Sources in Nature
Holly Hughes
Tuition $1,415
Code D1225-25
Crack the nut of abstraction while infusing art with the vigor of visual experience. In this workshop, students use natural objects, landscape, and historical, 20th-century, and contemporary art to glean strategies for the studio. Prompts include a menu of classic and innovative approaches for creating abstractions and semi-abstract landscapes in drawing and painting. With an emphasis on color, form, composition, and surface inspired by fresh sources, students investigate new terrain, gain hands-on skill, and formulate new avenues of research. * This workshop is a program that includes joint critiques and discussions with Linda Geary's workshop, “Painting: Making and Dialogue.” The two faculty are teaching separate workshops but coordinating larger discussions and critiques between the two classes.