Francine Holley
In 1946, Francine Holley moved to Paris and frequented the studios of André Lhote and Fernand Léger, then those of Jean Dewasne and Edgar Pillet.
This naturally led to her first abstract works around 1950.
From 1955 onwards, Holley's works became more complex; the lines became more pronounced and the shapes thicker.
The artist also diversified the techniques she used, adding gouache, collage, pastels and inks to her practice. This technical evolution opened up
new pictorial possibilities. She took part in the Abstract Art, Constructed Art and Form movements.
In search of a supple and dynamic geometry on strictly flat from the 1980s onwards, the artist evokes the rhythm of musical staves, or Arabic calligraphy, or even a few African signs.
The austerity of the monumental, hieratic frame structure which runs through the entire work, encourages the artist to use a luminous chromaticism.
In 1990, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Verviers devoted a retrospective exhibition to Francine Holley.
In 1995, she exhibited at the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Meudon. For her 90th a new retrospective was devoted to her by the Magritte Museum in Brussels
(2010). For her 100th birthday, the exhibition "De mère en fille, trois générations d'artistes, Francine Holley, Kitty Holley, Alice Sfintesco" is presented by the Magritte Museum in Brussels.