Neale Howells is a contemporary artist who was born in Neath, South Wales, in 1965. Howells studied Painting in Bath Art College, and received his BA in 1990. Awards that Howells received throughout his career as an artist include Creative Wales Award, Animation (2007); Lexmark European Arts Prize, Wales Regional Final (2004); Studio Bursary, Welsh Arts Council (2003). Howells served as a judge during Artist of the Year, Cardiff (2013); Made in Roath, Cardiff (2013); and Beep International- Painting Prize Swansea (2012).
john martin gallery london 2014 Selected solo exhibitions include John Martin Gallery, London (2012); Edward Cutler Gallery, Milan, Italy (2012); Marc de Phoenhume, Basel, Switzerland (2012); Andrea Schulewitz Gallery, Square One Gallery, West Sussex (2010); Animation and Sound, LCD Big Screens, Swansea/ Cardiff City Centers (2009); John Martin Gallery, London (2008).
Selected Group Exhibitions include John Martin Gallery, Chelsea (2014); London Arts Fair, Islington (2014); Tokyo Process (2014); Hong Kong Process (2013); Cutlog New York (2013); Art13, London (2013); Bologna Art Fair, Italy (2013); Toronto Art Fair (2012); Cutlog Paris Art Fair (2012).
Neale Howells is represented by John Martin Gallery and Edward Cutler Gallery.
"The first thing I realized when I got to college was I knew nothing... and that was that… I spent all the time finding out what art is. I mean, how can you learn art? Well for me it was about looking and then creating your own pallet of color. Also it eventually dawned on me that art was basically an old green colored door bathed in Mediterranean sunlight. I know simple, eh? But all what we understand about art, and now contemporary western art, seems to be built around this for me; color is primarily what art is, and drawing gives the excitement. So that was me hooked on understanding, and when you knew where art came from it was pretty exciting to understand where it is going. From the Russian constructivists to the futurists there was an entire world of people who were so involved in art that words and phrases were introduced to describe them. Maybe that is all art is: a word that becomes part of our way of life, or at least a component.
The work that I do, well where does that fit in? It takes what I have learned and discovered, then hopefully tears it up and finds its own direction. Art should not be contrived and the work should not have an intellectual crutch to rely on for understanding. Art for me should be exciting and come from the imagination. Yes, IMAGINATION, a word hardly used to describe contemporary art. It should inspire the viewer to come back and view it again and again, seeing new things every time. How do we judge art? Well, perhaps it is how many times you come back to view it, or allow time to be the real judge. Art is the most fundamental creative power we all have, but some get it worn out of them. I would hope that the art I create generates potential that has been left behind in school. Art is a funny word, used to describe how good somebody is at something then also to ridicule those whose work seems detrimental to society. Truth is artists should be allowed to say and do things more than other people. They are the ones who take chances and give society the excitement that we can call life. Does this sound like a bit too much? Well not for me. I have always seen the work that I help do competing at international level and now with APT hopefully this will happen…" Neale Howells
For additional information about this artist, visit Mutual Art
