About

Pittsburgh-based artist (with deep ties to the Hudson Valley), Branda C. Maholtz, works primarily in oil paint and pastels. Her work is known for its loose brushstrokes and thoughtful color palette that evoke an illusory, dream-like abstraction, even when the subject matter is familiar. Branda’s titles demand attention not only for their contextualization of the pieces, but also as they serve as an attempt to form a deep emotive connection with the viewer. In her recent works for the series “Landscapes: Postcard Sent from the Past” (2022-2024), Branda creates a sense of place for her most vulnerable experiences while playing with idea of a double-entendre by titling her pieces twice to further explore the multiplicity of meaning and memory as it evolves and is open to interpretation. Branda has shown work in Hudson, NY and most recently was selected for the Images 2024 Galley Exhibition for the Central Pennsylvania Arts Festival. She has also received an Honorable Mention for the Pittsburgh Scene Innovation Grant in 2023.

Below is a short Arts-Oriented CV of sorts:

  • Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, Member.

  • Group Show: Images 2024 Juried Gallery Exhibition as part of the Central Pennsylvania Arts Festival: Viewshed of the Moraine at Long Family Farms or Wild Ride on a Side by Side... and Elk County Morning Mist Clearing or A Year Later and I Am Able to See...

  • Solo Show: Landscapes: Postcard from the Past, Summer 2024, Colonia Antiques, Hudson, NY.

  • Pittsburgh Seen Grant Recipient, Honorable Mention. October 2023.

  • Served as a grant-award panelist for CREATE, Council for Resources to Enrich the Arts, Technology, and Education. 2021 & 2022.

  • Managed Capital Campaigns and fundraising for various community projects and groups including founding a highly successful WPA-style Arts Grant Fund during the pandemic for local creatives in need, raising over $20 thousand in three weeks.

  • Worked as a Development Associate at Hudson Hall, the Historic Opera House.

  • MFA in Creative Writing with an Emphasis in Poetry and Focus in Painting from Syracuse University.

  • Art Installation: “Interference.” Spark Gallery, Syracuse, NY—Fall 2001. A combination art installation and poetry reading that was the culmination of my creative work with memory concepts.

  • Publications:

    “Pointing Towards the Sun.” Chronogram, May 2016.

    “The Potter Laughs.” Chronogram, October 2010.

    “The Borrower,” “Nesting,” “history of love in salt,” “enveloped”, “Reading: Sensations in St. Petersburg.” Nanomajority, June 2008.

    “Prerequisites: People of the City.” 5 trope, an online literary magazine, April 2005.