Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Canadian, b. 1963
Best known for the jewelry and figurative sculptures based on a range of pharmaceutical drugs that garnered her widespread notoriety in the late 1990s, prolific artist Colleen Wolstenholme has also created abstract drawings and other works over the years that continue to stimulate dialogue and attract attention.
Born in 1963 in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Wolstenholme became interested in visual arts while studying fashion design at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. After earning her bachelor’s degree in fine arts in 1986, she continued her studies and received her master’s degree from the State University of New York at New Paltz in 1992, where she specialized in metal and jewelry arts.
Throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, Wolstenholme worked with a range of mediums such as jewelry, sculpture, digital collage, painting and embroidery to create art that served as social criticism. Beginning in the mid-1990s, she made oversized plaster-cast sculptures and silver or gold jewelry that took the form of antidepressant pills and capsules in order to address several issues, including the fact that drugs are prescribed at disproportionate rates to women versus men, that the healthcare industry is overly reliant on prescribing drugs, and that anyone in treatment and on a course of medication is generally made to feel less healthy than those who aren’t. Wolstenholme’s provocative work made headlines in the Guardian, the Los Angeles Times and Psychology Today.
Wolstenholme’s art has also seen her unpacking her interest in the human brain. This is demonstrated in such abstract sculptures as Deviant Grid, the “Matrix Index” series and Spatial Anomaly in which she depicts the brain’s neurons. In her “Hyperobjects” series, Wolstenholme also focuses on systems that “humans have little power over but control and constrain us.” These include figurative drawings and abstract drawings of wind patterns, titled with geographical coordinates.
Wolstenholme’s art is part of the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Confederation Centre Art Gallery in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
On 1stDibs, find a range of Colleen Wolstenholme sculptures, drawings and watercolor paintings.
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Artist: Colleen Wolstenholme
Untitled pendant (Paxil - paroxetine)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (Adderall)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled (1 Charm Necklace, Gilead)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled from the series Shifty Packets
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
What happens when the digital and analog duke it out? Who would win in this match: the printing press versus a high-speed internet connection? Or do we have to choose? What happens w...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Paper, Ink
Untitled (10 Charm Bracelet, Mixed)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (Klonopin)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (Viagra)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (codeine, and caffeine)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Tight end
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Colleen Wolstenholme’s work has the ability to engage and provoke viewers by piquing the social conscious. She’s a prolific artist with of an impressive oeuvre of intriguing art work...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Plaster, Wood, Oil
Untitled (3 Charm Necklacem Mixed)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (Prozac)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Grand Prix
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Colleen Wolstenholme’s work has the ability to engage and provoke viewers by piquing the social conscious. She’s a prolific artist with of an impressive oeuvre of intriguing art work...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Plaster, Wood, Oil
Matrix Index 5 / Silver
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Colleen Wolstenholme’s interest in the brain has flowed from her longstanding practice of making meticulous impressions of pharmaceutical drugs, such as Xanax, Prozac and Adderal, cr...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Polystyrene
Matrix Index 3 / Charcoal
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Colleen Wolstenholme’s interest in the brain has flowed from her longstanding practice of making meticulous impressions of pharmaceutical drugs, such as Xanax, Prozac and Adderal, cr...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Polystyrene
Untitled pendant
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (b 972 1 0, Amphetamine and Dextroamphetamine)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled (9 Charm Bracelet)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (Xanax)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (Percocet)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (Clozaril - clozapine)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (Ritonavir)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (Amitriptyline)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled from the series Shifty Packets
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
What happens when the digital and analog duke it out? Who would win in this match: the printing press versus a high-speed internet connection? Or do we have to choose? What happens w...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Paper, Ink
Untitled (11 charm necklace)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
79.54ºS, 89.01ºE; 140º@23 km/h; 46.0ºC 08/11/15 14:00 Local
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
In Hyperobjects, Nova Scotia-based artist Colleen Wolstenholme presents works that developed from her earlier drawings of brain cell patterns and her interest in the way consciousnes...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Paper, Ink
Spatial Anomaly
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Colleen Wolstenholme’s interest in the brain has flowed from her longstanding practice of making meticulous impressions of pharmaceutical drugs, such as Xanax, Prozac and Adderal, cr...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Steel
Matrix Index 7 / Red
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Colleen Wolstenholme’s interest in the brain has flowed from her longstanding practice of making meticulous impressions of pharmaceutical drugs, such as Xanax, Prozac and Adderal, cr...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Polystyrene
Matrix Index 2 / Gold
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Colleen Wolstenholme’s interest in the brain has flowed from her longstanding practice of making meticulous impressions of pharmaceutical drugs, such as Xanax, Prozac and Adderal, cr...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Polystyrene
Matrix Index 6 / Red
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Colleen Wolstenholme’s interest in the brain has flowed from her longstanding practice of making meticulous impressions of pharmaceutical drugs, such as Xanax, Prozac and Adderal, cr...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Polystyrene
Untitled pendant (West-ward 787)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Matrix Index 4 / Yellow
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Colleen Wolstenholme’s interest in the brain has flowed from her longstanding practice of making meticulous impressions of pharmaceutical drugs, such as Xanax, Prozac and Adderal, cr...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Polystyrene
Matrix Index 1 / Black
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Colleen Wolstenholme’s interest in the brain has flowed from her longstanding practice of making meticulous impressions of pharmaceutical drugs, such as Xanax, Prozac and Adderal, cr...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Polystyrene
Matrix Index 9 / Marine
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Colleen Wolstenholme’s interest in the brain has flowed from her longstanding practice of making meticulous impressions of pharmaceutical drugs, such as Xanax, Prozac and Adderal, cr...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Polystyrene
Multiply Connected Triangle I
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
In Hyperobjects, Nova Scotia-based artist Colleen Wolstenholme presents works that developed from her earlier drawings of brain cell patterns and her interest in the way consciousnes...
Category
2010s Abstract Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Metal
Untitled pendant (Fioricet)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (DuPont Percodan)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (Gilead)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled (1 Charm Necklace, Sulfamethoxazole-Trimethoprim)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled (Frosst 67 Necklace)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Deviant Grid
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Colleen Wolstenholme’s interest in the brain has flowed from her longstanding practice of making meticulous impressions of pharmaceutical drugs, such as Xanax, Prozac and Adderal, cr...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Steel
Untitled pendant (Metronidazole)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (BuSpar - buspirone hydrochloride)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (Watson 387)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (Warfarin)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (Acetaminophen-Codeine)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (2083 V - Allopurinol)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (M 775 - Benazepril Hydrochloride and Hydrochlorothiazide)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (54 343)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (Vasotec)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (Fluvox)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (Modafinil)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (Apo-Metoprolol)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Untitled pendant (Trimethoprim / Sulfamethoxazole DS)
By Colleen Wolstenholme
Located in Montreal, Quebec
I have been taking impressions of pills and creating a pill archive where pills are cast in silver and/or gold since 1995. At that time I was given pills as an answer to something th...
Category
2010s Contemporary Colleen Wolstenholme Art
Materials
Silver
Colleen Wolstenholme art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Colleen Wolstenholme art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Colleen Wolstenholme in metal, silver, ink and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Colleen Wolstenholme art, so small editions measuring 7 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of David Umemoto, Renato Garza Cervera, and Guillaume Lachapelle. Colleen Wolstenholme art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $220 and tops out at $11,000, while the average work can sell for $900.