Patrick Howlett is a Canadian visual artist born in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
on September 17, 1971. He is currently based in Montreal, Quebec. Howlett obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts at
Concordia University
Concordia University (French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the th ...
,
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
in 1997 and completed a Master of Fine Arts at the
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...
in 2006.
[Artist Biography. Susan Hobbs Gallery. Accessed July 27, 2013](_blank)
/ref> In 2008, Howlett was a finalist in the RBC Canadian Painting Competition. His internationally exhibited work typically involves a commentary on technology and the digital age that results in multimedia paintings and drawings, and is often centred on the relationship between an image and a title. His work has been presented at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Musée d’art contemporain, Montréal; The Power Plant, Toronto; Art Gallery of Edmonton, Edmonton; Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver; Atelierhof Kreuzberg, Berlin; Maison de la culture Côtes-des-Neiges, Montréal; Khyber Institute for Contemporary Arts, Halifax.
Art Practice
Howlett’s artistic practice is careful, methodical and deliberate. He works in a variety of media, including tempera
Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done ...
paint, watercolour paint, silverpoint
Silverpoint (one of several types of metalpoint) is a traditional drawing technique first used by medieval scribes on manuscripts.
History
A silverpoint drawing is made by dragging a silver rod or wire across a surface, often prepared with gesso ...
, coloured pencil and charcoal. He is well known for his geometric abstract paintings and drawings, which are often compact, dense and intensely layered. Howlett works with traditional surface treatments, media and brushwork that go back to the Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...
. Howlett also incorporates a digital element into his work: he generates Google image searches for inspiration and source material which he then synthesizes into the colour, shape and composition of his paintings.[Laidlaw, Katherine. the higher you get, the higher you get. Things of Desire: Canada’s Alternative Art Weekly, 11 December 2008.]
References
Further reading
*Balzer, David. Eye Candy. Eye Weekly, 30 December 2008;
*Dault, Gary Michael. Gallery Going. The Globe and Mail, 27 December 2008;
*Dubinsky, Lon. Pas Tout à Fait... / Not Quite.... Pointe-Claire, Québec: Stewart Hall Art Gallery, 2011;
*Jordan, Betty Ann. Trip-in. Toronto Life, February 2006;
*Lauder, Adam. Patrick Howlett: the possible and the real. Hunter and Cook 8, Winter 2011;
*Linsley, Robert. How Hummingbird? Abstract art in the era of global conceptualism, 3 February 2013;
*Luo, Amy. Patrick Howlett: How Hummingbirds Choose Flowers. Artoronto.ca, 29 January 2013;
*Stewart, Laverne. Creative, Independent, thinker. The Daily Gleaner, 13 September 2008;
*MacMillan, Lauren, ed. RBC Canadian Painting Competition: Ten Years. Toronto: Royal Bank of Canada, 2008;
*Woodley, E. C. Patrick Howlett. Border Crossings, issue 126, May 2013;
*Wu, Yan. Site Exercises at Susan Hobbs Gallery. Artforum.com, 20 August 2010.
External links
*
Review in Canadian Art online magazine by Wojciech Olejnik
"See It" review in Canadian Art magazine
Information on exhibition with Gary Spearin at the Khyber Centre For The Arts
Review in Globe and Mail newspaper by Gary Michael Dault
Information on 2012 exhibition at Susan Hobbs Gallery
FrameWork essay by Kim Neudorf
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howlett, Patrick
1971 births
Living people
Artists from Toronto
Canadian male painters
20th-century Canadian painters
21st-century Canadian painters
20th-century Canadian male artists
21st-century Canadian male artists