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FLORA & FAUNA
Laura Holland Nancy Meagher Thursday, April 2 through Saturday, May 2, 2026 Opening Reception Friday, April 10, 5–7:00 pm Slow Art Day at Gallery A3 Saturday, April 11 Art Forum Online Thursday, April 16 at 7:30 pm (Art Forum Video) |
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Image Gallery Watch on Vimeo: Art Forum Video Laura Holland member page Nancy Meagher member page website |
FLORA & FAUNA Fill Gallery A3 in April
Laura Holland explores plant life growing inside and outside the glass walls of a greenhouse, in sequences of photographs assembled into artist books. In lushly textured oil paintings, Nancy Meagher revisits two favorite themes: flowers in a vase on a pink table and trees in melting snow on a hillside near her house. Working also with poetry and prose, both artists add stories about animals to the mix of FLORA & FAUNA.
Laura Holland explores plant life growing inside and outside the glass walls of a greenhouse, in sequences of photographs assembled into artist books. In lushly textured oil paintings, Nancy Meagher revisits two favorite themes: flowers in a vase on a pink table and trees in melting snow on a hillside near her house. Working also with poetry and prose, both artists add stories about animals to the mix of FLORA & FAUNA.
Laura Holland
Photography and Artists Books
Laura Holland says she probably walked by the greenhouse at least 100 times without seeing it, because she was thinking instead about the small wooden structure that once stood beside it. “According to legend, that worn wooden building was originally a chicken coop. But in my lived experience, it was the foundry where I learned arc welding and bronze casting.” She always intended to record its incongruous architectural details, but the old foundry burned down, and she mourned her failure to seize the moment every time she saw the site where it once stood. One day, a random shaft of late-afternoon sunlight shot out of dark clouds to illuminate the framework of glass, and she saw the greenhouse, as if for the first time. Aiming to capture its burst of ephemeral beauty, she snapped photographs of the paint-splattered glass walls, ambiguous layers of light, deepening indigo shadows, and twisting vines until light faded into dark.
Photography and Artists Books
Laura Holland says she probably walked by the greenhouse at least 100 times without seeing it, because she was thinking instead about the small wooden structure that once stood beside it. “According to legend, that worn wooden building was originally a chicken coop. But in my lived experience, it was the foundry where I learned arc welding and bronze casting.” She always intended to record its incongruous architectural details, but the old foundry burned down, and she mourned her failure to seize the moment every time she saw the site where it once stood. One day, a random shaft of late-afternoon sunlight shot out of dark clouds to illuminate the framework of glass, and she saw the greenhouse, as if for the first time. Aiming to capture its burst of ephemeral beauty, she snapped photographs of the paint-splattered glass walls, ambiguous layers of light, deepening indigo shadows, and twisting vines until light faded into dark.
Laura Holland, Silhouettes, photographs, detail of 4-panel accordion book
Nancy Meagher
Painting and Poetry
Nancy Meagher says a visit to France last year made her aware of the power of flowers. “Splashy orange flowering vines lured us into a small cafe on the left bank of Paris,” she recalls. More recently, she has been paying attention and painterly tribute to the long-stemmed roses left at sidewalk memorials for fallen Good Samaritans, American heroes. “I’m not trying to portray a lovely painting in Flowers on a Pink Table, but rather my reaction to the energy and the stories radiating from the still life,” she says. “Imagine the table’s history, the dramas the pitcher overheard at different dining room tables, and how the flowers feel when they fade.” Similarly, as Nancy investigates variations of the snow-covered landscape, she feels the energy of trees wrestling with the tangled bittersweet vines and wonders how one tree toppling over affects the others. “I think about relationships in nature,” she sums up.
Painting and Poetry
Nancy Meagher says a visit to France last year made her aware of the power of flowers. “Splashy orange flowering vines lured us into a small cafe on the left bank of Paris,” she recalls. More recently, she has been paying attention and painterly tribute to the long-stemmed roses left at sidewalk memorials for fallen Good Samaritans, American heroes. “I’m not trying to portray a lovely painting in Flowers on a Pink Table, but rather my reaction to the energy and the stories radiating from the still life,” she says. “Imagine the table’s history, the dramas the pitcher overheard at different dining room tables, and how the flowers feel when they fade.” Similarly, as Nancy investigates variations of the snow-covered landscape, she feels the energy of trees wrestling with the tangled bittersweet vines and wonders how one tree toppling over affects the others. “I think about relationships in nature,” she sums up.
Nancy Meagher, April Wind and Snow, oil on canvas
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Slow Art Day
Celebrate International Slow Art Day at Gallery A3 on Saturday, April 11, 2-7 pm. Participate in gently guided Slow Art activities and share your experience with gallery artists. Families are welcome at this free event, with parental supervision required for children under 18. Art Forum Online In an Art Forum Online on Thursday, April 16 at 7:30 pm, the artists will speak about their art process and read selected animal stories. Register for this online event, which is free and open to the public. This Art for Community II program is supported in part by a grant from the Amherst Cultural Council, a local agency, which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. Click to watch on Vimeo |
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