Loie Hollowell Turns Birth and Bodies Into Cosmic Abstraction

Loie Hollowell’s Overview Effect at Pace Gallery London pairs large twin-circle canvases with pastel drawings to explore birth, abortion, pregnancy and breastfeeding through a cosmic, abstract lens inspired by her own experiences. The works fuse bodily imagery with outward, planetary forms—reflecting a developmental arc from her first birth’s diagrammatic representations to a more internal, space-inspired approach. Influences range from Louise Bourgeois and O’Keeffe to home-birth photos and Ina May Gaskin, and Hollowell discusses how shifting reception and female curators have allowed her to speak more openly about abortion and sexuality. The show, timely with Artemis II, situates the body within abstract art and questions market-driven pigeonholing, running at Pace Gallery, London, through May.