The Message or the Messenger
The Message or the Messenger
November 24 - December 5, 2020
Goldfinch is very proud to present Howard Fonda’s solo exhibition The Message or the Messenger. Known for composing picture planes comprised of loose brushstrokes of varying lengths that coalesce into mesmerizing, boldly chromatic pictorial fields, Fonda makes paintings that embody principles of abstraction and representation simultaneously, in the process overturning categorical definitions of both. Fonda’s interest in looking at painting through a philosophical lens, as “a vehicle of contradiction,” as he has stated, allows us to re-examine definitions and assumed truths that are in fact dependent on context and contingencies. “On a whole, the subject matter is driven by my personal fascination with love, existence, meaning and truth,” Fonda has explained. These are “big, well-worn themes that I personalize and play out in my humble little studio. It’s all bit self-indulgent, but it helps me make sense of this crazy world.”
Howard Fonda is an artist, former educator, father and husband living in Portland, OR. Philosophical and introspective, Fonda’s work expresses a romantic worldview and mystical inner journey within a painterly dialogue. He has been the recipient of grants from a number of institutions including the Oregon Arts Commission and the Joan Mitchell Foundation. Previously an instructor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Fonda has lectured, served on jurying and critique panels and pursued curatorial projects at numerous universities and art centers. The artist’s work has been exhibited throughout the United States and abroad since 2000.