INFORMATION FOR
Reckonings, a one-person exhibition of works by the renowned artist robin holder, who is known for her social activism and innovation in print and mixed-media art production, is on view in the William Paterson University Galleries from September 3 through December 18, 2026. Admission is free.
The exhibition, located in the South and East Galleries of the Ben Shahn Center for the Visual Arts on campus, is open Monday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and on Friday, October 16 through Sunday, October 18 for Homecoming and Family Weekend. Other associated events include an artist talk and reception featuring robin holder in conversation with University Galleries Director Ellen Hoobler on Thursday, October 8 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and a reception on Tuesday, October 27, 2026 from 12 noon to 2:00 p.m.
The exhibition features a retrospective of a small part of holder’s work over the past four decades. It includes works from eight separate series— Women Warriors (1980s-2000s); Karnak (1980s); Behind Each Window, A Voice (1999); Musicians (2000s); United States of Anxiety (2010s); Birds (2011); and Code Switching (2024-26)—as well as two accordion books from 2003 and 2005, respectively.
Some of her work shows the diverse visual cultures from which she draws inspiration, ranging from ancient Egypt and Mesoamerica to 20th century jazz of New Orleans and Harlem. Holder’s work also engages with the present day, as in her series Behind Each Window, A Voice. Funded by a Brooklyn Arts Council Individual Artist Grant, holder interviewed immigrant neighbors and documented their stories in artworks whose forms echo Brooklyn rowhouses.
While holder’s works illustrate ancient art and culture or contemporary themes, they are also striking in their beauty and visual power. She is internationally renowned for her ability to create illusionistic effects of color, texture, and depth within the printmaking medium.
More recently, holder created beautiful but haunting responses to the complex contemporary social situation in her United States of Anxiety series, whose forms again turn towards architecture, this time of deserted homes in Detroit. The exhibition also features her most recent works, a series called Code Switching, which make visible the self-editing of speech patterns and tone that many BIPOC and immigrant individuals undertake to succeed within white majority society.
The exhibition will be first to feature holder’s series titled Birds, a collection of archival inkjet monoprints, installed as though in flight. This series will guide viewers between the South and East Galleries that will be filled with holder’s work. Suspended in the air, the metallic foils with which the artworks are embellished catch the viewers’ eyes and inspire wonder and delight.
Robin holder was born in Chicago in 1952 and raised in New York, the daughter of an African American Episcopalian father and a Caucasian Russian American Jewish mother. Her commissions include several site-specific public art installations throughout the northeastern United States, including the MTA and the School Construction Authority in New York City and New Jersey Transit. A number of her two-dimensional works can be found in the collections of the Library of Congress, the Washington State Arts Commission, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, among others. Her works have been featured in dozens of one-person and group exhibitions, and as well as numerous collaborative and community arts projects, and she has been involved in arts education for more than 30 years.
The exhibition will feature an illustrated catalogue, created with generous supported from the Passaic County Cultural and Heritage Council and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
Also on view from September 3 through December 11 is the 2026 Faculty Exhibition, which highlights new work by the faculty in the William Paterson University Art Department.
This exhibition is supported in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. The William Paterson University Galleries are wheelchair accessible. Large-print educational materials are available. For additional information, please call the William Paterson University Galleries at 973-720-2654.
