WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., Sept. 22, 2016 —West Liberty University’s Nutting Gallery welcomes artist Vernon F. Howell in a new exhibition this September. The public is welcome to attend the opening reception, at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 28.
A retired teacher, Howell taught art for 30 years at Barboursville High School (29 years) and Webster Springs (1 year). After retiring in 1989, he transitioned from being a teacher to becoming a sought-after artist, and in 2012, he received the Governor’s Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement from Gov. Joe Manchin.
A native of Huntington, W.Va., Howell began his college career on a football scholarship to Syracuse University. He then transferred and earned his teaching degree in 1959 and his master’s degree in art education in 1960, both at Marshall. While a student, he was the captain for Marshall’s football team in 1958. He also did post-graduate work at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Howell started his artistic career creating paintings, but now mostly focuses on experimental mixed media art. An artist of our times, he came to age in an art environment of second-generation abstract expressionism, pop art, photorealism and collage.
Howell works in a variety of media, including metal and wood relief, photography, oil, watercolor, pen and ink, transfer prints and even stained glass, but he is best known for architecture, grids, maps, mechanical parts, engineered structures, pattern and repetitive designs.
“As a child, I dreamed of becoming an inventor, but instead found credence in life as an artist,” he states in his official biography. Howell is married and he and his wife, Beverly have four adult children.
He has always loved the outdoors and usually took a camera with him when hunting, fishing and camping. He developed his own film and manipulated images in the darkroom of his working studio.
“I always enjoyed experimenting with a variety of media alongside my students. My main goal was to expose students to as much art as possible — all types of media and styles,” he said.
Howell received the Second Place prize in Tamarack’s 2016 Best of West Virginia Open Juried Exhibition for his mixed media collage City Life.
Located in Hall of Fine Arts, the Nutting Gallery is open to everyone and is dedicated to educating, enriching and engaging students and the public through art exhibitions of the highest quality and to promoting the visual arts within the WLU community. It is part of the College of Arts and Communication.
The Nutting Gallery fulfills its educational mission through eight exhibitions during the academic year, which includes five exhibitions by visiting artists, two Senior Exhibitions, and the Annual Art Faculty Exhibition.
Hours are from 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday and weekends by appointment. For more information, please contact gallery director and faculty member Bob Villamagna at rvillama@westliberty.edu or call 304-336-8370.