A great gallery is a rarity in any city. For thirteen years, starting in his living room and moving into Belltown before establishing himself in Pioneer Square, Billy Howard had a great gallery. As each year ends and I look back on the memorable shows, Howard is consistently at the top of the list. Howard House will close June 12, Seattle’s first major gallery to fall victim to the economy.
Nothing illustrates the depth of the gallery’s lineup than the fact that five of its most stellar artists (Dan Webb, Victoria Haven, Leo
Saul Berk, Alex
Schweder and Joseph
Park) walked out together in 2007. Those who wanted other galleries in the region found them on the
top tier. Those artists were the cream, but skim the cream at HH, and
most of what’s left is still cream.
Below is a small survey of Howard House’s greatest hits. It barely scratches the surface.
Park The Grand Odalisque, 2001 oil/linen 30 x 36 inches
Gretchen Bennett Hand-cut Walnut Wood-grain shelf paper on wall, 2005, 9′ h
Debra Baxter Crystal Brass Knuckle (I am going to realign your chakras motherf*****)
Quartz crystals, sterling silver
7 x 6 x 2.5 in
2009
Sean M Johnson Grandpa
2008
Rocking chair, Jack Daniels bottle, pack of cigarettes
60″ x 46″ 38″
Robert Yoder
Harmon
2004
lego on wood panel
20″ x 20″
Mark Takamichi Miller Thieves: Man at Party
2008
acrylic, wax, urethane, oil and glass spheres on canvas over board
48″ x 72″
Jon Haddock
Wang Weilen – Screenshot Series
2000
chromogenic print from digital file created in photoshop
22.5″ x 30″
Edition of 3
Karen Ganz
Blue Puppet
2003/04
photogravure etching on paper
13″ x 11.5″
Cameron Martin
Conflation
2006
screenprint
edition of 25
30″ x 40″ (Howard House had the first show for Martin.)
Lauren Grossman Whithersoever
2006
iron, plastic, rubber
10″ x 13″ x 10″
Howard’s goodbye letter here. Jen Graves on the end of Howard House here.
Its sad to see art galleries going out of bussines.I have live in seattle quite some time , and I noticed that its been a pattern one gallery open another gallery close.Its because the lack of support from locals ,the quality of art or, both.I don’t believe is the economy..I used to work in shipping art in New Orleans,,and when the economy was down , there were more people buying art and antiques, from all over US.Even seattle.
thats to bad. if you need a job let me know i know what its like to need a job
Dear Friends, Supporters and Colleagues,
Howard House will close its doors at the end of June. For nearly thirteen years the gallery exhibited artworks by exceptionally talented artists supported by visionary collectors, thoughtful critics, inspired curators and the full spectrum of enthusiasts. The goals of Howard House were simple: exhibit conceptually rigorous and aesthetically compelling art by local, national and international artists and help foster their careers. Build the business steadily and grow the collector base through national and international outreach. These goals were achieved but not without the help of current Associate Director, Nancy Stoaks, and past associates Sara Callahan and Gary Owen and numerous interns.
I believe the artists and exhibitions at Howard House had a positive effect on the discourse surrounding contemporary art. It has been my pleasure to help educate the public about the exceptional artists, artwork and exhibitions. Howard House offered me great opportunities to meet exceptional people and I believe that we have all become friends and have gained a great deal of enjoyment from these friendships. I have learned from everyone who walked through the door of Howard House and I deeply enjoyed our intimate conversations about our passion for art.
I plan to keep the gallery website HowardHouse.net updated with artists I represent and current projects, and Howard House, LLC as an art advisory service for curatorial endeavors, art consulting, appraisal and resale.
Thank you for all your support.
Billy Howard