'The muted colours with minimum line and form within cut grid formations infuse intrigue and an invitation to explore and evokes an emotional response that is both private and personal.' 

 

Exhibitions: Paintings​

26/ Newhaven Art Project

26/ Cupola Gallery 'Form' Sheffield

26/ Sussex Contemporary / Fabrica, Brighton

26/ Berkhamsted Art Fair, Berkhamsted

26/ BLOC 'The First Round Proper', BLOC Projects, Sheffield

26/ Gallery Holt, Norfolk 

26/ Tarpey Gallery, Donington : June 27th - August 9th

26/ Gallery at Home, Abergavenny : 18th July

26/ Britten Pears, Snape Maltings, Suffolk : 25th July - 30th August

26/ Sidney Nolan Art Prize, Sydney Nolan Trust, The Rod, Presteigne, Wales : July 11th - 3rd October

26/ No Place Art 'Materiality 2', Handbag Factory, London : September 16th - 29th 

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Exhibitions: Sculpture

26/ Tring Park, Tring 

26/ Stoberry Park, Wells : September 

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​Artist Statement:

Hertfordshire-based artist Geoffrey Howe (b.1961) draws from the physical and emotional experiences of forests and woodlands. Using a combination of paint, fire and physical intervention his paintings are an abstract exploration of the dark, light and shadows found in these visual environments. Repeated paint layers of a reductive palette are applied to a wood substrate which are subsequently eroded by a combination of cutting, burning and brushing resulting in a surface that is to be explored having evolved through both a physical and emotional expression. Abstract concepts of how woodlands and pathways are formed, erosion, repetition and regeneration are incorporated into his practice and fire is used to disrupt both the material surface and the expression of the work. Grid formations are used for structural contrasts within the paintings, the lines are cut into the wood substrate after or between the spontaneous layers of paint have been applied directly to the boards. The works are conceived without preliminary sketches but inspired by words and phrases that Howe has recorded in notebooks, this interplay of control and chance guides the paintings toward a mutual resolution. 

Howe’s sculptures are concerned with our emotional need for physical contact, a slight touch to a deep embrace. Holding someone tight can seemingly draw time to halt, a human connection to show love or to console. Using groups of three steel rods with a rust patina set in wooden beams the sculptures form delicate and subtle arc shapes. The rods are entwined and held in place by tension alone, no mechanical fixing is used to secure their positions and the elegant arc shapes can be adjusted by altering the position of the single rod that runs between each pairing. The beams that provide the strong footing for the under tension rods are burnt to enhance their natural wood grain to contrast against the distressed steel.

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​Biography: 

Geoffrey Howe lives and works in Hertfordshire, UK. He studied at Harrow Art School from 1977  to 1979 and Middlesex Polytechnic for a Furniture Design Degree from 1980 to 1983. In 1984 he started to undertake furniture design and make projects until joining Vitsoe in 1999 as installation lead and Customer Home photographer. During his time at Vitsoe he became a lead volunteer for the Woodland Trust and started his Art Practice from his Hertfordshire garden workshop. In 2024 he became a founding member of the HVA Abstract Group, a discussion group formed to help abstract artists based in Hertfordshire. His work can be found in many private collections and is exhibited regularly and widely throughout the UK most recently he has shown in Small is Beautiful 43rd edition, Flowers Gallery, London; Tring Park, Hertfordshire; No Place Art, London; Linden Hall Studio, Deal; Gallery at Home, Abergavenny; Hayden Gallery, Marlow. In 2026 Howe will be a Submission Judge and a mentor to a selected artist for No Place Art 'Materiality Two'.​

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Awards and achievements:

Award winner, No Place Art 'Materiality One'

Submission Judge and Mentor for selected artist, No Place Art 'Materiality Two'​

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Portfolio held by:

The Tagli, London

No Place Art, London

New Day Design, London

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25/ Bath Society of Arts

25/ Tarpey Gallery

25/ Gentleman Gallery

25/ Art Now Fair

25/ Hayden Gallery

25/ Gallery at Home

25/ Tarpey Gallery

25/ No Place Art

25/ The London Group

25/ Flowers Gallery

25/ Linden Hall Studio

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24/ Solo exhibition, Douglas Fir

24/ Tarpey Gallery

24/ Open Studio

24/ AKA

24/ Tarpey Gallery

24/ Green & Stone

​24/ London Biennale

24/ Tarpey Gallery

24/ Heart of the tribe

24/ Fox Yard Gallery

24/ Henderson Hub

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