Frieda Howling - Artist statement

Nature is the primary focus of my work--sometimes the awesome forces of nature. I see the environment as forms occupying space. My abstract shapes draw their strength from the firm basis in the natural forms of the landscapes. The artist has the privilege to translate nature's forms into various moods which will affect the inner and spiritual emotions of the viewer.

I have two approaches to drawing the viewers into my painting so they can process their own interpretations about the images. Sometimes I use very large canvases and bold colors.  The largeness is to envelop and surround the viewer. I often string together multiple canvases or use odd shaped canvases to accomplish this. The bold colors are to translate the energy 

of the image. My abstract landscapes, for example, are not well defined and do not necessarily use faithful colors so the viewer is not able to just glance at it like one might give a cursory look 

at a realistic depiction or a photograph and immediately register that it is a landscape. My goal is to evoke an emotion or a thought which transcends the image. More recently, my approach has been to engage the viewer in my highly abstract images by inserting thin but intense lines in order to direct the eye all over the painting thereby getting the brain to conjure up some meaning for the viewer. For the same effect, I sometimes insert a crowd of tiny faces or recognizable objects into an amorphous image so that the incongruous aspect provokes some thought or feeling. 

Black and white lino prints are a more recent creative expression for me. I found the mystique of trees of profound interest. The involvement of the linoleum block, the black ink and the 

virgin paper is very uplifting. The fascinating shapes of trees are a fertile source for my imagination. The results are powerful, dramatic images.

Ms. Howling holds a Bachelors degree B.A. from Douglass College, Rutgers University and a Masters degree M.S. in Interior Design from University of North Carolina at Greensboro. 

Her numerous solo shows include ones held in Munich and Berlin, Germany. Her works graces many private collections in the U.S. and abroad, such as in Uruguay. the Philippines, and Lebanon. 

Frieda's artwork is displayed in such varied corporate settings as General Electric world headquarters in Fairfield, Connecticut, Johnson & Johnson world headquarters in New Brunswick, New Jersey and the Law Office of R. Juergen Killius in Munich, Germany. 

Public collections include the Art Lending Library in Fairfield, Connecticut; the Wayne Public Library in Wayne, New Jersey; and the City Hall of Grafelfing, Munich, Germany. Frieda is a member of the Arts Council of Milford and Greater New Haven, Connecticut. She creates her artworks in her home/studio in Connecticut. 

Johnes Ruta,web designer
azothgallery@comcast.net

Frieda Howling lived and taught in Lebanon for eleven years and is the author of ART IN LEBANON: The Development of Contemplative Art in Lebanon, 1930-1976, published by Lebanon-American University Press (LAU). 

Click here to review a listing of Select Exhibitions. 

PRIVATE COLLECTIONS 

In USA and Abroad

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS 

The Art Lending Library, Town of Fairfield, CT

Wayne Public Library, Wayne, NJ

The City Hall of Grafelfing, Munich, West Germany 

CORPORATE COLLECTIONS

General Electric, World Headquarters, Fairfield, CT

Johnson & Johnson, World Headquarters, New Brunswick, NJ

Law Office, R. Juergen Killius, Munich, West Germany 

AWARDS AND HONORS  

1994 Second Place Award, Members Show, Dunedin Fine Arts Center, Dunedin, FL

1993 Merit Award, Members Show, Dunedin Fine Arts Center, Dunedin, FL

1973 Festival '73 Members Award, Milford Fine Arts Council

1970 New Group Award for best in show 

BIBLIOGRAPHY  /  REVIEWS 

Linda Bouvier, Milford Painter Sees Poetry in the Trees, New Haven Register, July 30, 1995 

Martin Parsons, Frieda Howling's Fresh Take on Nature, Art Speak, an international Art Review, April 1994 

Phyllis A.S. Boros, Bold Hues Dominate Exhibit at Museum, Bridgeport Post, Feb. 1982 

Luann Sukowsky, and Now . . . Jigsaw Art, Branford Review, March 1979 

ISA (International Society of Artists) publication, an edited excerpt from Luann  Sukowsky's article, Meet a Member, Frieda Howling of Milford, Connecticut, Members Exchange Column, ISA 1515 Broadway, NY, Spring 1979 

Sue Gardner, press release, Milford Artist Sets Museum Exhibit, Milford Citizen,  February 17, 1978, Branford Review, March 2, 1978 

Peter M. Bode, Amerika Haus, Suddeutsche Zeitung, Feuilleton, July 23/24, 1977 

Sue Gardner, press release, Coordinated Canvases Featured in Frieda Howling Art Exhibit, New Haven Register, October 18, 1970 

Maxine Olderman, John Slade Ely House; Exhibition features early and late works by three area artists, New Haven Register, 1989 

PIBLISHED ARTICLES AND BOOKS 

Frieda Howling The Development of Contemporary Art in Lebanon: 1930-1975, published in Beirut, Lebanon, 2005  (To order the book, call The Lebanese American University, New York Office: 212-870-2315) 

Frieda Howling, Changing the Scene with a Mural, School Arts Magazine, April 1975 

Frieda Howling, Creativity with Textile Paint, School Arts Magazine, March 1971 

Frieda Howling, From The Traditional to the Modern and Contemporary -- Art in the UAE, Eastern Art Report Magazine, London 1997 

EDUCATION 

Douglas College, Rutger's University, B.F.A.

University of North Carolina at Greensboro, M.S. Interior Design

Southern Connecticut State College, Certificate for teaching Art in CT

Attended Art Critique program, Academie of Art under Professor Damen, Munich, West Germany   

© 2000, 2015, 2025 Frieda Howling, all rights reserved.