Art Gallery of Newfoundland and
Labrador (AGNL)
Shaped by the Sea
Permanent Collections
Known for her energetic and vibrant style, Tish Holland's artwork is often based on the natural environment of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Born in 1959 and raised in St. John's with nine brothers and sisters, Holland's love of art led her to leave Memorial University of Newfoundland after one year and go to the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1981.
NSCAD's emphasis at that time was on conceptual art, a mode of expression that did not attract her. Instead, she opted to specialize in printmaking, something she explored further in the early 1980s by working at St. Michael's Printshop in Newfoundland and by attending York University in Toronto.
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The Chain 1986 Acrylic on Paper 75.7 x 55.8 cm 
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After completing her studies, Holland spent a year travelling through Western Canada, down to the United States and into Mexico. At this point she realized that, in addition to printmaking, she wanted to work in other media like painting again.
Since returning to Newfoundland, Holland has been involved in several exhibitions, including Elements, Thresholds and Fluctuations. Her focus is mostly the landscape, and her early work showed a strong concern for the environment. Paintings like Bark at the Blast, which was a critique of low level flying in Labrador by NATO, or Last Tree, which criticized deforestation, are some examples.
Holland's early paintings often took viewers unawares with their unusual colour choices or occasional flashes of humour. Her later work has been less controversial. She is represented in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, the federal government's Art Bank, Air Canada, Petro Canada, Breakwater Books and Memorial University of Newfoundland, among others.
Holland currently lives in Manuels, just outside St. John's.
