James Howell (1935 – 2014) was an American artist whose career spanned over five decades, marked by a profound dedication to abstract art. Known for his meticulous methodology and the subtle interplay of color, light, and form, Howell's work delves into the nuanced relationships between light and shadow, creating meditative pieces that invite viewers to reconsider their perceptions of space and depth.

Showing an interest in art from an early age, Howell attending the Nelson Atkins Art Institute as a child, before graduating from Stanford University with degrees in English literature (1957) and architecture (1961). He then decided to pursue his artistic practice, encouraged to work with acrylics, a new medium at the time. In the 1980s, fascinated by the perceptible effects of the fog and mist of the San Juan Islands, where he had set up his studio, the artist gradually freed himself from colour and form. He adopted the neutral, non-contrasting palette of grey, which he described in his writings as ‘a monument to all in-betweens’. Howell tended to freed from colour even in his immediate environment, gradually removing his coloured objects so that he could perceive the slightest variations of light in his work. In his paintings, each grey belongs to another, in a kind of continuum. None of them exist alone: only in interaction, transition and transformation. In the 90s, his ‘light to shadow’ series culminated his fascination with grey, as a result of his decade long commitment to paring down and simplifying his compositions.

Howell has exhibited extensively across the United States and internationally. His solo exhibitions include significant showcases such as Twilight - 21 Works by James Howell at the New York Studio School (2024), Josef Albers - James Howell at the Josef Albers Museum in Bottrop, Germany (2022), and Light Field at the Kunstverein Eislingen in Germany (2017). In 2024, his career and creative process were also the subject of the documentary Shades of Infinity, directed by Halina Dryscka.

With their serial aspect and achromatic field of values, Howell's paintings relate as much to the minimalist tendencies of contemporary art as they are detached from it: from this apparent unity, the play of values, the method and the constancy deployed in Howell's artistic vision are also reminiscent of those of Joseph Albers and Roman Opalka.

Howell's work is included in prestigious collections, including the Albright-Knox Art Museum in Buffalo, NY, and the Folkwang Museum in Essen, Germany. Alongside the James Howell Foundation, Bigaignon is now representing James Howell's artistic legacy in France.

SOLO SHOWS

2024 Twilight: 21 Works by James Howell. New York Studio School, NY
2022 Josef Albers - James Howell. Josef Albers Museum, Bottrop, Germany
2017 Light Field, Anne Blanchet - James Howell. Kunstverein Eislingen, Eislingen, Germany
2016 Decoded, James Howell. Galerie von Bartha, Basel, Switzerland
2012 Works on Paper. Deborah Berke Partners, New York, NY
2011 Poesie der Farben. Das Kleine Museum, Weissenstadt, Germany
Survey. Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2010 Progression of Six. von Bartha Chesa, Chanf, Switzerland
2008 The Grey Count. Bartha Contemporary, London, UK
2006 James Howell. Conny Dietzschold Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2005 Ten Paintings. Galerie von Bartha, Basel, Switzerland
2004 Ten Grays. Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
Progressions. Bartha Contemporary, London, UK
2000 James Howell. Galerie von Bartha, Basel, Switzerland
Series Ten. Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
1998 Bilder. STIL-American Fine Art, Düsseldorf, Germany
1995 Series 1.9 Set 68.98. Sharon Truax Fine Art, Venice, CA
Gradient Intervals - Series 6.4. Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM  1993 New Works Series. University of Washington, Seattle, WA
1992 Light Stone Veils. Windows Art Gallery, Seattle, WA
1990 James Howell. Wagner Gallery, Tacoma, WA
1990 Time Series. Merrill Place Gallery, Seattle, WA
1982 James Howell. Gump’s Fine Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1980 James Howell. Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA
1979 – 1978 James Howell. Kiku Gallery, Seattle, WA
1976 James Howell. University Unitarian Fine Arts Gallery, Seattle, WA
Port Blakely Series. Keller Gallery, Salem, OR
1974 James Howell. Linda Farris Gallery, Seattle, WA
1971 James Howell. Polly Friedlander Gallery, Seattle, WA
1971 James Howell. Kenady Gallery, Gig Harbor, WA
1968 Flag Series. Pauli Dennis Gallery, Bainbridge Island, WA

GROUP SHOWS

2024 “Nuances infinies”, reserve, Bigaignon, Pars, France
2022 REPETITIVE FORMS (Sometimes Singular), Museum Wilhelm Morgner, Soest, Germany
2019 A Day’s Work. Sammlung-Schröth, Museum Whilhelm-Morgner-Haus, Soest, Germany
2017 Format 35 Years of the Schröth Collection, 1981 - 2016. Raum Schröth and Raum Hans Kaisers , Museum Whilhelm-Morgner-Haus, Soest, Germany
2016 Light Field, Anne Blanchet - James Howell. Raum Schröth, Museum Whilhelm-Morgner-Haus, Soest, Germany2016    
2016 Konstruktion - Construction. Raum Schröth, Museum Whilhelm-Morgner-Haus, Soest, Germany
On Paper. Minus Space, Brooklyn, NY
2015 Expanded Field: Four New York Painters. James Howell, Winston Roeth, Kate Shepherd, and Joan Waltemath. Bartha Contemporary, London, UK
2014 6th Biennal der Zeichnung. Kunstverein, Eislingen, Germany
2014 Colour and System. Galerie Werner Klein, Cologne, Germany
2013 Neuzugänge V, Farben (New additions V, Colors). Sammlung-Schröth, Museum Whilhelm-Morgner-Haus and Marienschule Soest, Germany
Hauptsache Grau #04 Konstruiertes. Mies van der Rohe Haus, Berlin, Germany

DISTINCTIONS

1970 Westchester Museum Annual, New York, Juror: Dore Ashton
1961 Humanities Prize in Architecture, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
1953 Art Prize, The Hill School, Pottstown, PA

COLLECTIONS

Albers Museum, Bottrop Germany
Albright-Knox Art Museum, Buffalo, NY
Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
von Bartha Collections, Basel, Switzerland
Deborah Berke Partners Architects, New York, NY
Columbia University, New York, NY
Comet AG, Flamatt, Switzerland
Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA
Joost van den Bergh Ltd., London, UKMr. and Mrs. Robert Halperin, Atherton, CA
Das Kleine Museum – Kultur auf der Peunt, Weissenstadt, Germany
Sally and Wynn Kramarsky, New York, NY
Leschot Foundation, Berne, Switzerland
Das Folkwang Museum, Essen, Germany
New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM
Museo de arte Contemporéaneo Estában Vicente, Segovia, Spain
Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner, WA
Raum Schröth, Museum Whilhelm-Morgner-Haus, Soest, Germany
Sammlung-Schröth, Soest, Germany