Magic, 2022

Howard Brotman  

Artist Statement:

My work is an intuitive adventure of exploring the dynamics of emotions through form, structure and color. I look to capture the energy of these elements and their interaction in the space that they occupy. Taking my head out of my work, I strive to achieve spontaneous mark making; quickly applying layers as I build the painting.

Howard Brotman was born in Philadelphia, PA and attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY majoring in drawing and illustration. He established himself as a graphic artist in New York City for 15 years and left the field to pursue other interests. In 2004, after twenty-some years, he re-visited art again by drawing the figure at the Art Students League. His love of drawing took hold as the figure became the catalyst to pursue his passion for art again. Upon his return to art in early 2006 he moved away from the classic, academic methodology and began to explore his interest in minimal geometric shapes and lines. He continued to explore these abstract images as interpretations of life's experiences when he was diagnosed with cancer. This event was an alarm that life is short and it was time to get back to his roots and continue his creative journey. Since relocating back to the Philadelphia area in 2008, Mr Brotman has explored the grid and developed several series around this minimalistic format such as Dark Spot, Abstracted Details and Leaves. His use of paint is mostly intuitive, looking to capture space by making marks that build and take shape in a congruent and oppositional way.

Education:

Pratt Institute, Brooklyn NY
The Art Students League, NYC
School of Visual Arts, NYC

Exhibitions:

2017 Landscapes Of Our Own Perceptions, Boston Street Gallery, Philadelphia PA. Featured works by Howard Brotman and Carla Liguori

2016 Annual Summer Juried Show, Abington Art Center, Abington PA. (juried by, Leah Modigliani)

2015 Annual Spring Juried Show, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA (juried by Pam Regan)

2014 Artists Unite! Project Fishtown 2, Philadelphia, PA, 52 artists/175 works of art

2013 Artists Unite! Project Fishtown, Philadelphia, PA 19 artists/100 works of art

2011 Emergence, Nichols Berg Gallery, Chestnut Hill Philadelphia, PA

2011 Annual Juried Show, Cheltenham Center For The Arts, Cheltenham, PA

2010 Two Commerce Square (lobby exhibition) Philadelphia, PA

2009 Equinox, Abstract Expressions Gallery, Mount Holly, NJ. Featured works by Howard Brotman and Michael Boyle

2009 Bloomingdale's, Willow Grove, PA. Dark Spot (series) exhibition (located in waiting area of executive offices)
 

Artistic Influences:

Degas, Matisse, Braque, Klee, Kandinsky, Derain