Rev. Howard Finster
Howard Finster`s idiosyncratic genius is one of the finest examples of the continued richness of contemporary American Folk Art. His work hangs in the National Museum of American Art and has been shown at the Los Angeles County Museum as part of the museum's “Parallel Visions: Modern & Outsider Art” exhibit, which travelled to Spain, Swtzerland, and Japan. He has been interviewed by an amazed Johnny Carson, has designed rock music album covers, and has been the subject of an eye-popping retrospective at New York`s Painewebber Art Gallery. His clients include Absolute Vodka and MTV , and he has been the subject of articles in People Magazine The Wall Street Journal and dozens of other publications. His work has been shown from Soho to Australia, from Los Angeles to Venice Biennale. Howard Finster is not only a painter, but also a sculptor, poet, gardener, musician, and an inventor.
Howard Finster, a former Baptist Preacher and bicycle repairman who never went beyond the 6th grade had experienced visions since the age of 3. When he turned 60, he recieved a divine command to paint “Sacred Art.” A self taught artist, whose colorful paintings tend to embrace evangelical themes, many of them apocalyptic, are filled with illustrations of bible verses along with portraits of American heros and pop subjects reflecting American culture. They are interspersed with all kinds of evangelical messages, printed quotations and original, often witty sayings, or “Finsterisms”, as they have come to be known. Within a few years, Finster`s work was discovered by big city galleries and collectors, for whom Finster`s backwoods theology had an ironic charm, the artist himself probably did not intend. A mix of Andy Warhol and Grandma Moses, his pulpits are now the Smithsonian, the Library of Congress, and major museums around the world. A backwoods preacher inspired by the WORD of GOD, visitations from the dead, and visions of extraterrestrial life, Howard Finster is indeed, an unliklely candidate for status as an art celebrity. No matter what your religious beliefs, the compelling power of Finster`s work is undeniable. Its child-like exuberance and down-home flavor bring instant smiles to the viewer.