"to create, i need to be pushing up against something. i need a force in opposition to me that is heavy and inert, a thing that needs energy and commitment from me to move."

gary holme | artist | designer | illustrator | director

Gary Holme has one of the most diverse and eclectic careers in the North American visual arts scene. As an accomplished artist and published illustrator, he has spent his career weaving creativity with commercial success, from controversial art shows in Bejing to the podium at advertising award shows worldwide. Holme has been an art director for some of the world's best agencies and was recently the Director of Art & Design at Mass Minority, Toronto. Gary Holme has been called many things ––– artist, cartoonist, illustrator, writer, creative director and provocateur.

He grew up in Detroit and moved to Canada in 1990. Classically trained in his youth, Holme's recent work has been more bold and transgressive than ever before. "I’m still inspired by a blank canvas, but turning something that already exists into something else is interesting. I transformed an Apple iPod billboard from the early 2000s into nine large paintings. The billboard was on the way to a landfill, but now it continues to exist in people's homes. That’s cool." says Holme.