Person
Biography
Fred Holland was a sculptor and choreographer, born in Columbus, Ohio in 1951 and graduated from Columbus College of Art and Design before moving to New York City in the 1970s. There he danced with Meredith Monk, Stephanie Skura, and Ann Bogart/John Bernd before forming a partnership with Ishmael Houston-Jones. Together they were artists-in-residence at Jacob’s Pillow for a two-week period in 1986, performing multiple times on the Inside/Out stage. His performance career continued until 1992, when an injury prompted his return to visual art. Since that time, he achieved distinction in group shows at the Museum of Modern Art’s PS1 in Queens, the Newark Museum, and the Drawing Center in New York. His first solo exhibition in 1999 was reviewed in the New York Times, which concluded, “The message seems to be that we take our history with us if we choose to, wherever we go.” He was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2009, but continued working up until his death at age 64 in March 2016.
Source of Biography
Written by Norton Owen for Jacob's Pillow Remembers.