Studio Artists

Camille Holvoet was born in 1952 in San Francisco. She has been creating artwork at Creativity Explored since 2001.

Holvoet’s preferred medium is oil pastel. Her pastels are rich blends of line and color, created with many overlapping layers. Her attention to spatial detail is evident in all of her art. Whether she is working on a small-scale drawing or a large-scale painting on canvas, the compositions are always well balanced and meticulously planned.

While she is best known for her pastel drawings of luscious cakes, pies, and pastries, Holvoet has expanded her subject matter to include interior scenes, portraits, ferris wheels, and other objects. The straightforward interior scenes are an especially interesting glimpse into Holvoet’s memory of her former years spent in an institution. Since she started at Creativity Explored, we have witnessed Holvoet working on a larger scale, experimenting with computer drawing media, and integrating text into her pieces. She enjoys using a Wacom tablet to create digital drawings that combine text and imagery. Her texts are often powerful and personal, drawing on memory and its anxieties; when juxtaposed with her beautiful renderings of desserts, the pieces take on new levels of meaning and resonance.

Selected Exhibitions

• 2010

  • Santos y Otros Creatures, Creativity Explored

• 2009

  • “Science” FIction, Creativity Explored
  • A Night at Findlay’s Dance Hall, Creativity Explored
  • Visual Poetry, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, San Francisco
  • Repetition, Creativity Explored
  • Legend: Myth and Memory, Creativity Explored

• 2008

  • Hair-Doozy, Glama-Rama!, San Francisco
  • Tasty, Creativity Explored
  • Issues, Issues, Oakland
  • one of these does not belong, Adobe Books, San Francisco
  • Quarter Century, Creativity Explored

• 2007

  • Naked, Creativity Explored
  • Seeing Memory, Creativity Explored

• 2006

  • XTown2ne, NIAD Art Center, Curated by Jack Fischer, Richmond, CA
  • SF Notables Portrait Auction, 111 Minna Gallery, San Francisco
  • Drawing the Line, solo window installation, Creativity Explored Gallery

• 2005

  • Subjects of Desire, two-woman show, Creativity Explored
  • In Passing, San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery

• 2004

  • Don’t Call Me Retard, San Francisco Public Library
  • Psst, Hey! Be Mine?, Chatterbox Gallery, San Francisco