Madoo Kicks Off Contemporary Art Program With “Nicholas Howey: The Color Of Science”

The Madoo Conservancy will highlight the watercolor explorations of artist Nicholas Howey in the Sagaponack-based garden’s latest exhibition. Nicholas Howey: The Color of Science will open on Saturday, May 22 and remain on view in the summer studio of Madoo Founder Robert Dash through Saturday, June 26.

“We’re delighted to present Howey’s latest works in watercolor which present a new direction for him,” said Alejandro Saralegui, The Madoo Conservancy Director. “This exhibition launches our contemporary art program that we are very excited about.”

For the series featured in The Color of Science, the Bridgehampton-based artist shied away from his traditional medium, acrylic painting. The exhibition will showcase 16 works on paper that are “primal and spontaneous, contemplative and urbane.”

“Watercolor is a new and experimental media for me,” Howey shared. “I loved the fluidity and surprise and fun of it, the unknown factor and never knowing how exactly the end would realize itself.”

Howey, who was born in DuBois, Pennsylvania, received a BA from The University of Pittsburgh and an MA from New York University. At the start of his artistic exploration, he collaborated closely with artists Robert Whitman and Robert Rauschenberg. Howey’s pieces have been exhibited nationally and globally – with solo shows in New York, Italy, France and Belgium.

“Nicholas Howey depicts the essence of any given spatial relationship by employing a system of gestural marks that evoke both his personal history and the evolutionary meanings inherent in abstract art,” noted Joan Snitzer, Director of Visual Art at Barnard College of Columbia University.

Madoo, a nonprofit 501(c)3 public charity, was established in 1967 by artist, gardener, and writer Robert Dash. “The exuberant use of color in these works on paper are a wonderful complement to Robert Dash’s use of bold color in the garden,” Saralegui added.

Following Howey, the contemporary art program will feature Billy Sullivan Still-lifes (July 2 to August 14), Spencer Finch in coordination with Lisson Gallery (August 20 to September 24), and The ‘I’ is the Mind of an Object – an Eric Brown curated exhibition showcasing Robert Dash and his circle – (October 1 to December 31).

The Madoo Conservancy is located at 618 Sagg Main Street in Sagaponack. For more information, visit www.madoo.org.