James Havard (American, born 1937)
James Havard first gained recognition in the 1970s for pioneering the Abstract Illusionist movement with artists Al Held and Allan D’Arcangelo. By the 1980s and 1990s, he had returned to figuration, creating works inspired by Art Brut masters. Richly colored, collaged and carved in encaustics, these works are raw and elemental, drawing inspiration from Native American, African and Caribbean tribal cultures, cave paintings, and children’s drawings. Havard has exhibited extensively for over forty years in the United States and Europe, including solo exhibitions in Germany, France, Sweden and Denmark. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.; and Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Information Courtesy of Rago Arts, October, 2019.