After 13 years in operation, one of the leading contemporary art galleries in Seattle is closing its doors. The last day Howard House will be open is Saturday, June 12—the final day of the current exhibition of Seattle ceramic matriarch Patti Warashina’s show of prints and sculptures.
It’s an entirely economic decision, gallerist Billy Howard said in a phone conversation.
“There’s no reason to keep a gallery open if people aren’t buying,” he said. “We had that Mary Henry show up for two months, and it was from her entire estate, and it took us 10 months to organize, and nothing sold. It’s embarrassing, and I don’t need to be in a business that’s embarrassing. I’ve had great support from my clients, and I get it. It’s tough times and people are afraid.”
Howard House will maintain a web site and Howard will continue to work with artists on a project basis, he said.
How does a gallery become one of the leading contemporary art galleries in a city? By representing among the most vital artists living in that city. Howard House has a stellar roster, including Debra Baxter, Gretchen Bennett, Lauren Grossman, David Hartt, Mary Henry, Sean Johnson, Ken Kelly, Zhi Lin, Fred Muram, Yuki Nakamura, Matthew Offenbacher, Jim Rittimann, Juniper Shuey, Mark Takamichi Miller, Warashina, and Robert Yoder.
Where will they go?
“That’s not a problem in this town,” Howard said.
But I’m not so sure. Other galleries like Greg Kucera, Lawrimore Project, James Harris, and Platform already have full rosters; dealers risk neglecting individual artists by taking on too many. Will each of these take a few, or will some new entity form in order to grab these artists as a group and give it a shot, even in this economy?
- One of the great shows at Howard House included this photograph, unmanipulated, of the starlings gathering over Mussolini’s architecture in Rome, by Richard Barnes.
Howard House has mounted some great, great shows over the years. Recall Stranger Genius Alex Schweder La’s dizzying video installations, Hadley + Maxwell’s Decor Project, Cat Clifford’s painfully delicate animations and torn drawings, Dan Webb’s portrait of his dying brother, Jon Haddock’s handcranked torture machines, the extended tour through Mary Henry’s life and work, the miniature backroom psychedelia of Bennett/Offenbacher/Claudia Fitch/Jenny Heishman/Stranger Genius Jeffry Mitchell, the Seattle debut of brothers Oscar Tuazon and Eli Hansen, the disturbing Swedish show with videos by Nathalie Djurberg, the post-Viennese Actionists several years ago now, and many more; these are only the first off the top of my head.
This is a loss, a real one. Howard has an undeniably great eye and mind for contemporary art. And yet in recent years he did not have the best record at keeping relationships with artists: Many of the above moved on to other galleries, some citing differences with him, which may have hurt the gallery more than Howard has let on.
Either way, Howard House is a Seattle institution whose passing marks the end of an era. Howard launched many of Seattle’s leading artists today; he believed in them early and often, and it made all the difference. Toast to Howard this weekend—and visit the gallery on Second Avenue before it closes.
And going forward, these artists deserve a home. What will become of them?
They’ll move back to the Red States they came from and lead the Revolution.
… oh, you weren’t serious about what would happen to the artists?
Wow. I’m shocked, and a little horrified. Will there be some sort of closing/memorial event at the House or elsewhere?
That really sucks!
Jesus. Not a single Mary Henry sold. Jesus.
Hi Jen,
The image by Richard Barnes is amazing. The caption is a bit misleading though, as the building is Pier Luigi Nervi’s Palazzo dello Sport (now PalaLottomatica) which was built for the 1960 Olympics. It’s correct that it is in EUR, the Fascist suburb, but the only building visible in the image was built long after Mussolini went upside down in Milan.
They may deserve a home, but do they deserve a retail outlet? Seems they failed on that front already…
Not good. Is this the start of a domino rally?
It was a pleasure to be in your space, Billy Howard. Thanks for a good run.
Billy will be back. He is not one to go down so easily. I suspect that there is already a plan in place.
The art world is changing.
And the economy is worse than we think.
And people are worried that huge new government costs and taxes are coming. Buy new art or save for a higher cost of living?
There will be two more closures by year’s end, I suspect.
Comment #1 is seriously funny!!!!
Embarrassing? How about just not economically feasable for the time being. That explanation should more than suffice. Why should anyone be embarrassed for failing to sell artworks. Sadly, what that statement really translates to is that artists should be embrrassed; since Galleries are merely middlemen. Should Bill Traylor have been embarrassed to sit on a sidewalk and draw on discarded paper bags and cardboard he sold for a quarter? And what of the Mary Henry estate. Is it embarrassing to spend your life devoted to something others neglect to discover and value? How about the population at large being embarrassed. What are they afraid of? Buying an ipad and a hummer rather than art? Now that is embarrassing!
What does a former gallery owner do for work? Can they declare bankrupcty? Do they collect umemployment? Or are they all trust fund kids pretending to be down with the people in the first place?
Dear Friends, Supporters and Colleagues,
Howard House will close its doors at the end of June. For nearly thirteen years the gallery exhibited artworks by exceptionally talented artists supported by visionary collectors, thoughtful critics, inspired curators and the full spectrum of enthusiasts. The goals of Howard House were simple: exhibit conceptually rigorous and aesthetically compelling art by local, national and international artists and help foster their careers. Build the business steadily and grow the collector base through national and international outreach. These goals were achieved but not without the help of current Associate Director, Nancy Stoaks, and past associates Sara Callahan and Gary Owen and numerous interns.
I believe the artists and exhibitions at Howard House had a positive effect on the discourse surrounding contemporary art. It has been my pleasure to help educate the public about the exceptional artists, artwork and exhibitions. Howard House offered me great opportunities to meet exceptional people and I believe that we have all become friends and have gained a great deal of enjoyment from these friendships. I have learned from everyone who walked through the door of Howard House and I deeply enjoyed our intimate conversations about our passion for art.
I plan to keep the gallery website HowardHouse.net updated with artists I represent and current projects, and Howard House, LLC as an art advisory service for curatorial endeavors, art consulting, appraisal and resale.
Thank you for all your support.
Billy Howard
This is a wonderful opinion. The things mentioned are Great and needs to be appreciated by everyone.
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