TWILIGHT: 21 WORKS BY JAMES HOWELL

Twilight: 21 Works by James Howell
September 06 - October 20, 2024

New York Studio School
8 West 8th Street
New York, NY 10011
USA

The New York Studio School and the James Howell Foundation are pleased to announce the upcoming exhibition Twilight: 21 Works by James Howell, a solo show of work by the American artist curated by Silvia Benedetti. The exhibition, which will run from September 6 to October 20 showcases Howell’s distinctive works, further cementing his reputation as a significant figure in contemporary art. An opening reception will be held on Friday, September 6 from 6 to 8pm.

D. Joy Howell, President of the James Howell Foundation, enthusiastically states, “We are absolutely thrilled to have the James Howell exhibition at the New York Studio School. It is the perfect setting to honor his work, and I couldn’t be happier to see his artistic legacy shared with such a vibrant and inspiring community.”

Silvia Benedetti, curator of the exhibition, writes, “James Howell was obsessed with the infinite nuances of gray. His works explore the liminal space between light and shadow, redefining abstraction in painting. Meticulously crafted in acrylic on canvas, his paintings are intricate studies of tones of gray. Howell’s limited palette and his eradication of distracting visual elements can be seen as a counterpoint to the expressive chaos of Abstract Expressionism, while his structured approach echoes minimalism and the grid-based art of the 1960s and 1970s.

Twilight: 21 Works by James Howell features paintings in which he exclusively used multiple tones of grays that he carefully prepared in a mathematical sequence. In the canvases, he drew lines he later filled with brushstrokes corresponding to different hues of a certain gray. Each piece is a unique gradation of the color and each is composed of either a single canvas or a sequence of them. Howell’s discipline and focus to a single artistic goal produced also subverts expectations by skipping tones, adding a humorous touch to the sequence of canvases. Howell’s compulsion for gray is as enigmatic as his artistic process. Beneath the seemingly simple surface of his paintings lies a complex methodology. His process is similar to weaving, not only pictorially but also in terms of the technique: fine lines on the canvas serve as the warp, while the brush loaded with gray acts as the weft, creating a tapestry of tones. A tapestry that confronts us with a true idea of infinity.”

Laura Bardier, Executive Director, adds, “This exhibition is a meaningful tribute to James Howell’s vision, and we are proud to bring his art to a place that resonates with his dedication to creative expression.”

About the New York Studio School

Founded in 1964, the New York Studio School is an independent art school and exhibition space located in Greenwich Village, dedicated to the rigorous study of drawing, painting, and sculpture. Rooted in the belief that direct observation is fundamental to artistic practice, the School fosters sustained inquiry into perception, form, and material intelligence. Through its degree programs, marathon workshops, and public lecture series, the New York Studio School has cultivated generations of artists and thinkers, serving as both a pedagogical institution and a vital forum for critical discourse within the contemporary art community.

Twilight: 21 Works By James Howell Floorplan

A conversation with  
Laura Bardier, Executive Director, James Howell Foundation
Silvia Benedetti, Independent Curator
Alistair Rider, Professor, St. Andrews University

PANEL DISCUSSION | Twilight: 21 Works by James Howell

A conversation with  
Laura Bardier, Executive Director, James Howell Foundation
Silvia Benedetti, Independent Curator
Alistair Rider, Professor, St. Andrews University

On Friday, September 20 at 6:30pm, curator Silvia Benedetti will be joined by Laura Bardier, Executive Director, James Howell Foundation, and art historian Alistair Rider in a discussion of Howell’s work in the gallery. The event will be held both in person and live-streamed via Zoom. To attend virtually, please register by clicking here.

Laura Bardier is a New York-based curator, writer, and executive. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the James Howell Foundation and is the Founding Director of the ESTE ARTE Cultural Summit & Art Fair. Since 2018, Bardier has led the James Howell Foundation, overseeing its incorporation and implementing a strategic plan that has successfully expanded access, awareness, and engagement with James Howell’s artistic practice. In February 2014, Bardier established ESTE ARTE, a platform that has significantly reshaped the art landscape of South America. She has written extensively about contemporary art in various publications and has curated several exhibitions. Bardier is actively involved in several professional organizations, serving as the Chair of Governance at ArtTable and as a board member for ICI - Independent Curators International and Creative Capital. She holds an MA in Curatorial Studies from Donau Universität in Austria and an undergraduate degree from Università degli Studi di Firenze in Italy.

Silvia Benedetti is a Venezuelan New York-based independent art historian, curator, and writer. She is a recipient of the 2023 Andy Warhol Foundation and Creative Capital Arts Writers Grant. Benedetti's research focuses on critically reassessing and contextualizing the work of peripheral creators within a global context, as well as exploring the intersection of artistic and social practices. In 2023, she curated the exhibition Dadas las circunstancias at the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center in the Lower East Side and co-curated Ways of Seeing with Lindsay Aveilhé at The Gardiner Gallery of Art at Oklahoma State University. She has held curatorial and research positions at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, and Dia Art Foundation. Her writings have appeared in publications such as Hyperallergic, Artforum, and post: notes on art in a global context. Benedetti holds an MA in Art History and an Advanced Certificate in Curatorial Studies from Hunter College, and an undergraduate degree in Communications – Journalism from Universidad Monteávila in Caracas.

Alistair Rider is an Art History professor at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, where he has been leading the undergraduate core course in the theory and methods of art interpretation for several years. His research primarily focuses on late modern art, with a particular emphasis on sculpture, abstraction, and environmental themes. Rider is the author of the first monograph on James Howell, published by Circa Press in 2021. This summer, he has been revising a long essay on ecocritical and environmental approaches in art history, while also writing an article on the sculptures of the German-Flemish artist Bernd Lohaus. Rider's next book, titled Ongoing: Notes on Long Term Art Projects, aims to compare different strategies that artists have adopted for structuring their careers and is expected to be completed in the coming years.