James Howell

The first monograph on an American abstract artist of unparalleled subtlety. James Howell (1935-2014) was an American abstract artist who used infinite variations of the colour grey to explore the fundamentals of light, space, time, and [kinesthetic] perception. He appreciated the colours mystery, softness, simplicity, and capaciousness. His precise, systematic methods, developed over many years, yielded accomplished square paintings and works on paper. Their subtle revelations absent of illusion, narrative, and symbolic references expand in the viewers consciousness. In this comprehensive first monograph, Alistair Rider traces Howells artistic evolution, from the beginnings of his career in the early 1970s through the artists greatest achievement the group of abstractions called Series 10, which occupied the last two decades of his life. Riders multi-faceted essay also chronicles Howells biography, including his early studies and accomplishments in architecture, and offers several interpretive frameworks for Howells oeuvre, notably a connection to East Asian philosophies. The beautifully produced book presents dozens of full-colour plates of artworks and exhibitions, and Riders essay is thoroughly illustrated with archival images and documents from the James Howell Foundation. This publication makes a critical contribution to the reevaluation of an artist whose studies of light into shadow have for many years been in a dynamic conversation with recognised trends in contemporary art.