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Jim Holyoak’s art practice consists of drawing, ink-painting and writing, artists’ books and large-scale drawing installations. He received a BFA from the University of Victoria, an MFA from Concordia University, and studied as an apprentice to master ink-painter Shen Ling Xiang, in Yangshuo, China. In parallel to his solo practice, Holyoak has orchestrated numerous collaborative drawing projects, often with fellow artist Matt Shane, and sometimes involving hundreds of people drawing together. His work has circulated widely, including at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, La biennale de Québec, Tegnerforbundet (Drawing Association) in Oslo, KM21 (formerly the GEM Museum of Contemporary Art) in The Hague, the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art in Rīga, the Carnegie Mellon International Drawing Symposium in Pittsburgh, and the Teckningsmuseet (Museum of Drawings) in Sweden. Holyoak has attended artist residencies in New York, Los Angeles, Mumbai, The Netherlands, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, and throughout Norway. Most recently, his work has been featured in the book ‘Drawing in the Present Tense’ (Thames & Hudson, 2023). In the Fall of 2024, his first graphic novel, ‘Book of 19 Nocturnes,’ will be published by Flask Press. Holyoak is presently based on the traditional, unceded territory of the sn̓ʕay̓ckstx Sinixt Arrow Lakes peoples, in the town of Nelson, BC, from where he teaches remotely at Emily Carr University of Art + Design.
Jim est rêveur. Le jour et la nuit, éveillé ou endormi. Il doute que les humains et les animaux soient aussi différents que la plupart des gens le croient. Il n’a pas le meilleur sens de l’orientation, mais il suit tout de même ses intuitions. Même lorsqu’il planifie à l’avance où il ira, il finit par prendre un chemin inattendu. Il aime se faire surprendre par un paysage qu’il n’a jamais vu auparavant, par la rencontre d’une personne dont il ignorait l’existence. Il sait toujours en garder de bons souvenirs. Même si on sait qu’il n’est jamais très loin, il y a des jours où il est normal de se demander où il peut bien se trouver.
– Anne-Marie Proulx, artiste/commissaire