There is more here than the first impact.

A Howard Sherman painting can announce itself from across a room. Up close, the encounter changes: a mark becomes a shape, a gesture becomes a character, and a flash of humor interrupts the force of the paint.

That shift between first impression and closer attention is a useful way into his work. Houston City Beat’s studio conversation finds an artist surrounded by the evidence of making: paintings, materials and surfaces where one decision leads to another.

Sherman lives and works in Houston. He earned his Master of Fine Arts in painting and drawing at the University of North Texas in 2006. His background in cartooning helps explain the playful figures that can emerge within his abstract compositions.

The physical life of a painting.

In the large canvases, scale becomes part of the experience. Broad gestures and competing forms pull the eye in different directions. The work can appear unruly, yet the placement of color, space and marks gives the viewer a route through it.

His works on paper offer a different encounter with that same sensibility. Smaller pieces make it possible to attend to an edge, a material or a single compressed arrangement. His practice also includes assemblage, extending the conversation between image, surface and object.

For a viewer, the invitation is simple: stay with the work. Look once for the overall movement, then again for the unexpected detail. The paintings reward a change of distance as much as a change of pace.

A Houston practice with a wider reach.

In 2008, a solo traveling exhibition of Sherman’s work originated at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas. His art is also on permanent display at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport, bringing the work into a setting beyond the gallery.

A 2023 monograph from SNAP Editions gathers another perspective on his practice, with contributions by Andrea Karnes, David Cohen and Alex Bacon. Our original feature introduces the book alongside the paintings and studio conversation.

This profile is the starting point for Houston City Beat’s Howard Sherman collection. Follow the interview to spend more time with the artist and the work, then return as the reporting grows.