John Howlin Explained

John Howlin (1941–2006) was a British-born painter, print-maker and sculptor.

Howlin studied at Hammersmith School of Art 1957–1959 and taught at Ealing School of Art,[1] and moved to Toronto, Canada in 1969. Later lived in France.

In 1963 British art dealer John Kasmin (1934-) and art patron Sheridan Dufferin (5th Marquess of Dufferin and Ava (1938–1988)) opened their art gallery at 118 New Bond Street. They represented Howlin who was given a solo exhibition in 1965.

One of his first major exhibitions was a group show in June 1963 at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London, alongside David Hockney (1937-), Ian Stephenson (1934–2000) and Howard Hodgkin (1932–2017). Vogue magazine in August 1963 enjoyed this exhibition and hailed them as 'The impact Makers – Edward Lucie-Smith reviews an exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery – four artists making an impact on British art – Includes a full page full colour picture of David Hockney, John Howlin, Ian Stephenson, and Howard Hodgkin'.

In Canada he exhibited at the Ruby-Fiorino Gallery (Queen Street West in Toronto) which was allied to an artist's co-operative called Workscene.

Howlin's work was somewhat influenced by Victor Vasarely (1906–1997) and his use of emulsion, shapes, colour and dots looks forward to that of Sarah Morris, Damien Hirst and Gary Hume.

Some exhibitions

David Hockney, John Howlin, Ian Stephenson, and Howard Hodgkin.

John Howlin: Recent Prints. 21 May – 8 June 1968.

Some works

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Literature

Institute of Contemporary Arts. London.18 September-19 October 1963.

Notes

  1. Info from Arnolfini gallery website, Bristol, UK.
  2. seemingly missing from Art UK's list.
  3. For me painting is the celebration of the spirit; a celebration of resolute conflicts. The title of Duke Ellington's famous and famous jazz composition "It does not mean a thing if it is not got that swing" can be applied to painting as well as to music. My paintings are a form of dialogue that stands in this narrow space between inner and outer realities. My paintings are structurally composed of an interior and an exterior, that is to say, a center and a space that surrounds it. In this structure, I seek to bring together, through the use of linguistic and iconographic metaphors, the emotional, psychological and mental mechanisms by which the diversity of experiences becomes tangible. This requires a visual language that is wide enough, but intelligible, to give form and substance to the inexpressible and invisible forces that exist. Painting is a process by which the hidden is discovered; an act of revelation; a way to see the invisible. It is the paradoxes and ambiguities that emerge during this scheduling process that stimulate me. Painting is an act of faith. The use of texts in my works is a way to expand, not only visual vocabulary, but also the metaphorical potential of imagery. Even if the words, or sentences, may seem emphatic or imperative, they will inevitably be "read" differently by the viewer, and psychological, intellectual and emotional connotations will be perceived and felt together, albeit at different levels. The meaning of the works will be revealed or will be guessed by the viewer in a manner similar to that in which the works were conceived. In my work, I do not only want to communicate a rational fact to the audience, but to share with them the complexity of an experience; for me, it is the communion of a lived experience and the spirit. (JOHN HOWLIN – April 1992, amac-chamalieres)

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