Figuratively Speaking: Paintings & Collages by Otis Huband
November 7-22, 2014
FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING: PAINTINGS & COLLAGES BY OTIS HUBAND FALL 2014 VIGNETTE SERIES CATALOGUE BY WILLIAM REAVES FINE ART
OTIS HUBAND
Huband’s New Art Groove in a New Art Gallery Things have changed a bit for Otis Huband since we mounted his retrospective exhibition three years ago, after his self-imposed 35year hiatus from the gallery scene. In their review of the exhibition, Houston’s own Culture Map heralded Huband as “the greatest Texas artist you’ve never heard of.” We couldn’t have agreed more! In the few years hence, we have continued to regularly display the artist’s figurative abstractions to ever-admiring and ever-growing fan bases. When we showed his work two years ago in the Houston Art Fair it gained such attention that he was quickly snapped up by the prestigious Valley House Gallery in Dallas, who gave Huband his first Dallas show last spring. So much, therefore, for undiscovered genius! At eighty, Otis Huband is being rediscovered with great fervor and enjoying renewed popularity in the gallery scene which he had abandoned all those years ago. Just goes to show that you can’t keep true artistic talent from the public’s eye for too long! To refresh your memory, Huband is a transplanted Virginian (B.F.A. and M.F.A. from Virginia Commonwealth) who located to the Bayou City in 1964. Besides painting actively, continuously and beautifully since his arrival in town, Huband was active as a teacher at the Museum School (1967-71) and the Art League of Houston (1971-82), as well as adjunct assignments at both Rice University and The University of Houston. Early on, he exhibited his work at Bute Gallery (and subsequently DuBose Gallery), as well as Erdon and Louisiana galleries; but after about 1982, Huband quietly walked away from the hubbub of the local gallery scene, choosing instead to concentrate on studio painting which complied entirely with his own aesthetic and artistic sensibilities. He has done well.
Houston art history, being one of the few professional artists to consistently explore the human figure in art. His dramatic style of abstract painting has been characterized as “figurative expressionism,” in that his canvases contain dynamic force and energy, eloquently manifested through use of bold color and powerful stroke. Out of a riot of color created through chaotic barrages of brushwork, the human experience bursts forth on Huband canvases. Spirited figures emerge and interact within his paintings, skillfully coaxed by the artist’s expert hand from frenetic overlays of paint. The human characters he creates, as well as the character of his work are a joy to behold. Through this vignette exhibition entitled Figuratively Speaking: Paintings and Collages by Otis Huband, associated with the grand opening of our new facility, we remind our patrons of the exceptional qualities of Otis Huband paintings. We urge you to look closely at his incredible work with renewed attention and regard, remembering that as you do, you are viewing the paintings by one of the state’s foremost figurative artists. Now working in his seventh decade, Otis Huband has indeed proven to be a great Texas artist, and unlike Culture Map’s observations of only a few years back, he is now becoming an artist that art-informed Texans have definitely heard more about! We can only say that it is “about time!” Enjoy.
William Reaves President, William Reaves Fine Art
Huband’s works have always addressed the human spirit, which he has consistently conveyed through marvelously executed abstractions rife with color, form and figure. Indeed, it is his emphasis on figurative subject matter which gives Otis Huband his distinctive place within
OTIS HUBAND
Figuratively Speaking: Paintings & Collages by Otis Huband | Exhibition Checklist Image
OTIS HUBAND
Title
Date
Medium
Dimensions
1
404 Granite Ave.
1989
oil on canvas
56.25x48.25 inches
2
Celebrating Irrational Behavior
2009
oil stick on canvas
56.25 x 41.5 inches
3
Five Large Considerations No. 3
1990
oil on canvas
68x44 inches
4
Gertrude Stein
1989
oil and collage on canvas
56x44 inches
5
Moonstruck
2007
oil stick on canvas
56.5 x 39.5 inches
6
Mountain Road
2007
oil on canvas
29.6x39.625 inches
7
Sloth
2008
oil stick on canvas
68.5 x 43 inches
8
Sometime Singing
2012
oil stick on canvas
57.5 x 43.5 inches
9
Abrivated promise
2009
mixed media
11x8.5 inches
10
Mother and daughter
2009
mixed media
11x8.5 inches
11
Saint with abraded black
2009
mixed media
11x8.5 inches
12
Two Moons to Choose
1994
collage on paper
12x8.75 inches
1. 404 Granite Ave., 1989, oil on canvas, 56.25x48.25 inches.
OTIS HUBAND
2. Celebrating Irrational Behavior, 2009, oil stick on canvas, 56.25 x 41.5 inches.
OTIS HUBAND
3. Five Large Considerations No. 3, 1990, oil on canvas, 68x44 inches.
OTIS HUBAND
4. Gertrude Stein, 1989, oil and collage on canvas, 56x44 inches.
OTIS HUBAND
5.Moonstruck, 2007, oil stick on canvas, 56.5x39.5 inches.
OTIS HUBAND
6. Mountain Road, 2007, oil on canvas, 29.6x39.625 inches.
OTIS HUBAND
7. Sloth, 2008, oil stick on canvas, 68.5x43 inches.
OTIS HUBAND
8. Sometime Singing, 2012, oil stick on canvas, 57.5 x 43.5 inches.
OTIS HUBAND
9. Abrivated promise, 2009, mixed media, 11x8.5 inches.
OTIS HUBAND
10. Mother and daughter, 2009, mixed media, 11x8.5 inches.
OTIS HUBAND
11. Saint with abraded black, 2009, mixed media, 11x8.5 inches.
OTIS HUBAND
12. Two Moons to Choose, 2009, collage on paper, 11x8.5 inches.
OTIS HUBAND
OTIS HUBAND THE ARTIST & HIS WORK
OTIS HUBAND
HUBAND, OTIS (b. 1933) Otis Huband was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He pursued his passion for art, studying at Virginia Commonwealth University and after a tour of duty in the Navy attended the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. Huband earned both his bachelor and master’s degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University and in 1963 travalled to Italy to study at the Academia de Bella Arta in Perugia. Huband returned from Europe in 1964 and moved to Houston the following year. Upon his arrival, he bypassed the local gallery scene by choice, opting instead to concentrate most of his time in his studio. In addition, he also worked as an art instructor at the University of Houston, the Museum School of Fine Arts, Rice University, and the Art League of Houston. Huband was not only a great influence on his students, but also on the art scene of the city. Huband’s works are a vast treasure trove of stellar abstract compositions rich with lyrical movement and colors, stunning in their fresh, original approach. Selected Biographical and Career Highlights • 1933, Born in Fredericksburg, Virginia • 1955-1956, Attends Richmond Professional Institute of the College of William & Mary (now the Virginia Commonwealth University) • 1956-1957, Attends Ventura Junior College, Ventura, CA • 1957-1958, Attends California College of Arts & Crafts, Oakland, CA • 1958-1961, Virginia Commonwealth University, Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts • 1963-1964, Attends Accademia di Bella Arti, Perugia, Italy • 1967-1971, Art Instructor at Houston Museum School of Fine Arts (now Glassell School) • 1967-1972, Art Instructor at Rice University, summer school for high school students • 1971-1982, Art Instructor at Art League of Houston
OTIS HUBAND
• 1975, Art Instructor at University of Houston, life drawing • Currently resides in Houston, Texas Selected Exhibitions • 1956, Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond, Virginia • 1960, Erick Schendler Gallery, Richmond, Virginia • 1964, Circolo di Universita, Perugia, Italy • 1965-1966, The James Bute Gallery, Houston, Texas • 1966-1967, Dubose Gallery, Houston, Texas • 1966-1970, Erdon Gallery, Houston, Texas • 1972-1990, Louisiana Gallery, Houston, Texas • 1974, University of Houston, Downtown, Houston, Texas • 1976, Ars Longa Gallery, Houston, Texas • 2010, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas • University of Houston Faculty Exhibition, Houston, Texas Selected Public Collections • Giacomo Colderone, Perugia, Italy • Mitchell Energy and Development Corporations, Houston • Houston Grand Opera, Rigoletto painting for cover, Houston • Merrill Lynch, Exploration & Development Department, Houston
WILLIAM REAVES FINE ART 2143 WESTHEIMER • HOUSTON, TEXAS • 77098 TEL: 713.521.7500 • EMAIL: INFO@REAVESART.COM WWW.REAVESART.COM CATALOGUE DESIGNED BY ELIZABETH O’DOWD.