Rachel Howard,
British b.1969 -
Suicide Painting 2, 2007; 
acrylic and household gloss on canvas,...

Rachel Howard,
British b.1969 -

Suicide Painting 2, 2007; 

acrylic and household gloss on canvas, signed, titled and dated to the stretcher 'R C Howard Suicide Painting 2 2007', also signed and dated to the reverse, 335 x 213 cm (unframed) (ARR)  

Provenance: 
with Haunch of Venison, London, ref no 19854 (according to the partial label affixed to the reverse); 
with Blain|Southern Gallery, BSL ref: 19854 (according to the label affixed to the reverse) 

Note:
Howard is considered to be one of the most influential British Contemporary artists of the 21st Century, producing emotionally charged abstract compositions.

In this exemplary mature work, Howard uses household gloss paint, often mixed with acrylic, in the present lot in a striking yellow, to speak about the fragility and tragedy of the human condition. The pigment and clear varnish are applied to the edges of the canvas which then, through gravity, spreads downwards to create strong vertical lines. The large scale envelops the viewer in washes and veils of colour, in the tradition of Rothko and the Abstract Expressionists. Howard's 'Suicide Paintings' were first shown in New York in 2007 at the Bohen Foundation and have been described as 'a psychological and physical battle' by Sue Hubbard. 

Graduating from Goldsmiths College, London in 1991, Howard would go on to receive The Princes Trust Award in 1992, shortlisted in 2004 for the Jerwood Drawing Prize, and eventually gaining a British Council Award in 2008. During her studies at Goldsmiths, Howard became friends with fellow student Damien Hirst who employed her as his assistant to execute his Spot paintings.

Howard was recently the subject of a solo exhibition at  MASS MoCA, Massachusetts, US, and her works are in the collections of the Arts Council Collection, UK, Imperial War Museum, London and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Her work is currently part of the exhibition ‘BIG WOMEN’ at Firstsite, Colchester, curated by fellow Goldsmiths alumni Sarah Lucas, alongside Gillian Wearing and Polly Morgan.