Susan Hobbs

Taking its name from an essay by Henri Bergson, Howlett’s second solo exhibition at the gallery continues his investigation of the indeterminate nature of meaning in abstraction. Bergson, the early 20th century French philosopher known for developing the concept of élan vital, argued that “the possible” is not the pre-existing ideal of “the real,” but rather that these concepts originate simultaneously in the present. Similarly, a work of art creates both its possibility and its reality at the same time, becoming a new visual fact that previously did not exist, yet grounded in an idealism that is necessarily retrospective. Howlett takes his cue from Bergson with a series of geometric abstractions on panel—executed in egg tempera with his iconic and thoughtful restraint— that both obscure meaning while developing another. Among these paintings, Howlett offers a number of other new works, such as cut and routered works on panel, that present a tactile quality aligned with his considered material and design sensibilities.