Loie Hollowell's abstract paintings prove a natural fit as NFTs

Loie Hollowell, a Brooklyn-based artist known for her luminous abstract paintings that explore sexuality and spirituality, is trending on HENI News.

The young artist, who has garnered significant market attention, is part of a group of in-demand abstract painters, many of whom are female. Her HENI Score, a measure of media coverage and an artist’s market, increased 88% recently while her auction sales have totalled a remarkable $19.3m over the past two years. To keep up with news about Hollowell, see her HENI Dashboard.

Born in California in 1983, both of Hollowell’s parents are artists. Her paintings are heavily influenced by her interest in spiritual and natural phenomena. She often uses the female form as a basis for her paintings, weaving in symbolic shapes and patterns to evoke themes of fertility, growth, and transformation.

Hollowell was among the artists who created their first NFTs with Pace Verso and Art Blocks. Her generative series "Contractions", which was inspired by the experience of childbirth, proved successful.

In 2018, three of her works sold for more than three times their upper estimate, hammering for $68,000 to $200,000. In 2021, Lick Lick (2019) sold for $1.88m at Christie’s Hong Kong, its estimated price. Recently, A Gentle Meeting of Tips (2018), sold for $841,300 at Phillips Hong Kong, again its estimated price.

In an interview with Artsy, Hollowell spoke about her artistic process. She said her goal is to make "the grotesque beautiful," using abstract forms and motifs that evoke the natural world and human anatomy.

Hollowell's work has already been shown in museums in the US and Europe, including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. She was also part of “Put It This Way,” a collection-based show at the Hirshhorn in Washington, DC.