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Indepth Arts News:
"Andy Howell: Therapy"
2003-08-09 until 2003-09-04
Kantor Gallery
Los Angeles, CA,
USA United States of America
Transition - the moment between life and death - the unanswerable and inexplicable circumstances of one's existence. Professional skateboarder, Andy Howell, paints transcendental images that are yanked from the experience of his past - desperate efforts to find meaning in the everyday wants and desire to "understand" the incomprehensibility of death. His father's demise was the impetus for such an outlook.
The jumpstart to not only self-examination and discovery, but also, the absorption of the events that are totally out of one's control. The agony which accompanied his father's death, made him attempt to reconcile his emotions on the canvas.
What is created is a visualistic energy that defies indifference. Like death or any consuming force, his works softly demand attention. Just as death slowly creeps over us all or blindly consumes one, his work gets under the skin - gets into the subconscious soul, creates an unfathomable experience. These images pull more from experience than that of the imagination and have an amazingly profound effect on the viewer. In these works Howell has the ability to convince his viewer of the fact that not only are these pieces intrinsic to his unique and individualistic experience, but that they do exist in the sub-conscious.
The knowledge that these paintings are such a personal expression of grief and the feelings that surround one during moments of acceptance imbue these works with a humanistic touch that is not only profound, they are accessible.
Howell's roots spring from a fertile, energetic, basic background. His talents revealed themselves at an early age, with a penchant towards the physical. As a street skater, he pushed not only the boundaries of the sport - he reinvented them. Never satisfied to settle for the norm, his internal rebellious force drove him to the heights of his sport, and have delivered him to the pinnacle of his passion - art.
Always a trailblazer, Howell was responsible for the creation of and successful production of such renowned companies as New Deal Skateboards, 411 Video Magazine, Element Skateboards, Sophisto and Girly Things Clothing (noted in 1995 as "New Clothing Company of the Year" by Fashion Magazine) and worn by such celebrities as Naomi Campbell and Kim Deal of "The Breeders". In charge of advertising, product and clothing design, marketing, public relations, videos and distribution - he is a man of many talents. In 1999 he founded Imagewerks Inc., which attracted such illustrious clients as Coca Cola, Ford and Time Warner amongst many. He remains seated as President and Creative Director.
His fine art has been featured in Vibe, Rolling Stone, SPIN, Lodown (Berlin), The Source, FACE (UK), Time Out (NYC) and Slap. He has shown his fine art and illustration nationally as well as internationally in well known galleries such as Alleged Gallery, Modart, Revolucionnes, and Compound Gallery, The Art Institute of Atlanta and San Diego, Art Bar and Space 1026 to name a few.
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