modernhouston featured artist Howard Sherman

Featured Artist

HOWARD SHERMAN

Credit cards, pharmaceuticals,
and sex, all ubiquitous elements of
contemporary culture, form the
narrative underpinnings of Howard
Sherman's work. Although it is
rarely obvious which of these or
countless other social dilemmas
Sherman is addressing, it is clear
through the shear energy and
dynamism of his paintings that
the world we live in is not always
simple or kind. It's nothing short of
dog-eat-dog, to be exact.

Less illustrative and cartoony than in
the past, Howard now paints over
much of his drawing, a holdover from
his days as a comic strip auteur, in a
push towards total abstraction. Most
appealing, perhaps, is the
balance Howard has found between
thoughtful, formal execution and
instinctual painting. Well versed in
the language and history of
abstract expressionism, he
intertwines spontaneous and
impulsivemgestural marks with hard,
graphic lines and spray paint,
reminiscent of
graffiti art of the '80s. Howard
succeeds in taking these elements
and creating something distinctly
new and unique. As the artist Ed
Blackburn puts it, "there is a bona fide
discovery in each painting."

Howard Sherman received his BA in Studio Art from the University of
Texas, and his MFA from the University of North Texas in Denton. His
work has been featured in New American Painting, Volume 60 and Volume
72, and is included in a two-year traveling exhibition titled New
American Talent, which was organized by Arthouse in Austin, Texas, and
selected by Aimee Chang, formerly of the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.
He was recently selected for a three-month residency at the McColl
Center for Visual Art in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mr. Sherman will
have his first solo museum exhibition in fall 2008 at the Art Museum of
Southeast Texas in Beaumont.

McMurtrey Gallery
3508 Lake St.
Houston, TX 77098
713.523.8238
www.mcmurtreygallery.com

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