Craig Howard

​My sculptural art probes the potential for space within the solid. 

As fundamental as it is - heat, hammer, cut, shape, join - the manipulation of metal feels like wizardry to me. That I can turn the most rudimentary of elements into expressions that evoke emotion - this is alchemical, magical.

My process is intuitive. The artworks arrive, nearly fully formed in my mind, just before sleep, almost without exception. In the blank space of darkness, objects appear. I page through the catalogs of materials and tools in the stillness of my imagination, in great anticipation of taking up those tools and bowing to the laws of physics in the bright reality of day.

My work, which often takes the shape of a vessel, explores the space of being held. Invitations to join. Inclusivity. Protection. Sometimes the form suggests the dichotomy of embrace as confinement. It can be a metaphorical two-sided coin, a shape of metal, or a cable that connects, or binds.

All works begin in prototype, a manageable maquette - ranging from the size of a hand to the size of a park bench. Yet most are imagined to be much larger, dwarfing the human scale and creating landscape rather than simply enhancing it.

I see my sculptures anchoring a garden, or towering in open fields. These are the opportunities I invite while I continue to conjure these visions in my nocturnal workshop.

Representation
Seattle Art Museum Gallery, Seattle, WA
Ryan James Gallery, Kirkland, WA

Group and Juried Shows

2018

45th Anniversary Show, Seattle Art Museum Gallery, Seattle WA

“The Hidden” , Confluence Gallery, Twisp, Washington

“Strange Couplings”, Confluence Gallery, curated by Jody Bento, director of the Seattle Art Museum Rental Gallery

2017

Nytec Sculpture Park, curated by Ryan James of Ryan James Gallery, Kirkland, Washington. The work is on view until April 2019.

2016

"10X10X10", Mighty Tieton, Tieton, WA

"One Foot x 3", Confluence Gallery, Twisp, WA

COMMISSION WORK

2006 to present
Custom furniture in glass, leather, steel, brass, and other metals produced primarily through my studio at Equinox Studios in Georgetown (Seattle), Washington, 2006 - 2016, and now from my shop in Twisp.

PUBLIC ART

2018

​Town of Twisp, Gateway, Twisp, Washington
Selected with Perri Howard to create gateway art for the north and south entries to Twisp on highway 20; install slated for June 2019