Artist Statement:

My influence is the light and emotion we find within woodlands and landscapes and the forms they provide such as horizons and tree structures and comes from a passion for protecting our natural habitats and how we as humans move and respond within the natural world. Using a combination of paint, ply, fire and physical intervention my paintings are an abstract exploration of this visual environment.

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Repeated paint layers of a reductive palette are applied to the ply surface which are subsequently eroded by a combination of burning with flame and heated tools, scraping with various metal edged tools and brushing with different densities of brush and cloths, this process of repeated erosion which often leads to the top layer of ply being breached to reveal the next provides both depth and texture and influences the colour shades, tones and muted hues above.

The introduction of a flame and the physical working of the surface are integral parts of my work representing destruction and regeneration. The inclusion of the enhanced wood grain by way of the controlled burning enables natural elements such as knots and tree ring pattens to be followed and used as a necessary part of the paintings structure.

I use 18mm ply board for these paintings which are designed to be hung without frames. The exposed edges are cleaned and made smooth but I feel it is important not to hide the eroded edges and to reveal hints of the ply layers and distressed paint overspill as each piece is considered as a whole not just the surface. However, the smaller paintings on thin ply that become delicate with the working are framed under glass.

Always allowing for chance, often led by the grain within the ply board and with an emphasis on repetition and erosion the paintings are prompted and nudged towards a mutual resolution.

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Biography: 

Geoffrey Howe

After my formal art and design studies and some years working with interior designers on new house builds I have been working within woodlands and landscapes with the Woodland Trust and managing light and dark through a lens with Vitsoe. I set up my art practice in 2005 creating abstract art in various forms and materials for private collections and galleries.

This year my work is being shown at the Fox Yard Studio, Suffolk the AKA Gallery, Cambridge and The Gallery at Green and Stone, London and in 2023 I exhibited at the London Biennale, Tarpey Gallery and the Heart of the Tribe Gallery. I am a member of Herts Visual Arts and will be taking part in their 2024 'Open Studio'.