Photographed by Chris Felver

James Havard is a painter and sculptor, born June 29, 1937 in Galveston, TX.
James Havard graduated from Sam Houston State College in Huntsville, TX, in 1959 and attended the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts from 1961 to 1965.
After spending several years in Philadelphia James moved to New York where he lived and worked for about 25 years, doing regular exhibitions with Allan Stone.
James Havard has employed various artistic techniques during his 40-year career, and was recognized as the leading practitioner of Abstract Illusionism, a mode of painting that gave the painting surface an illusion of a third dimension.
His works ranging in style from Realism to Minimalism, incorporate paint, resin, wax and mixed media. His late career works have been most often related to Art Brut.
James Havard had an important collection of Native American objects and American folklore, including Hopi Kachinas and Navajo textiles. Since 1989 – 90, Havard’s paintings are often inspired by Native American and African indigenous cultures, featuring primitive  and cultural design and forms reminiscent of ancient cave paintings and/or children’s drawings.
Critics, curators, collectors and art dealers often appreciate Havard for his alchemy of paint, colors, collages and the addition of raw textiles and/or found objects and his ability to always put forwards a strong and well balanced composition, at once both powerful and poetic.

James Havard’s works are included in many museums, public as well as corporate collections.
He lived about 30 years in Santa Fe before returning to Philadelphia in 2014.

 Selected One-Person Exhibitions

2016    “Brut”, Solo Exhibition at Mill Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM

2012   “Staying Ahead of the Beast”, Zane Bennett Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM

2011    “Birthday Exhibition” at Zane Bennett Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM.

2008    “Drink the Juice of the Stone”, Linda Durham Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

2006    “Recent Paintings”, Allan Stone Gallery, New York, NY

2003    Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ

2002    R.B. Raven Gallery, Rancho Taos, NM

2001    New Paintings, Allan Stone Gallery, New York, NY

2000    Paintings, Lowe Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Works on Paper, Lowe Gallery, Atlanta, GA

1999   Allene LaPides Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

1997    New Paintings, Allan Stone Gallery, New York, NY
Allene Lapides Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

1994    Hokin Gallery Palm Beach, FL

1993    Axis Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

1992     Elaine Horwitch Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

1991    Tokyo Art Fair, Tokyo, JAPAN
Marion Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

1990    Chicago International Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
Allan Stone Gallery New York, NY

1989    Allan Stone Gallery New York, NY
Elaine Horwitch Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

1988    Marian Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA                                 Elaine Horwitch Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ

1987    Galerie Lavignes-Bastille, Paris,

1986    Hokin Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY
1985    Recent Paintings & Works on Paper, Jeremy Stone Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1984    Janus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1983    “Anderson Ranch Faculty Exhibit”, Cohen Gallery, Denver, CO
Hokin/Kaufman Gallery, Chicago, IL

1982    Martha White Gallery, Louisville, KY
Moss Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Myra Morgan Gallery, Kansas City, KS
Hokin Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
Marian Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

1981    Hokin Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY

1980    Hokin Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Tolarno Galleries, South Yarra, Melbourne, Australia

1979    Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY
Galleri Astley, Uttersberg, Sweden

1978    Janus Gallery, Venice, CA
Irving Galleries, Palm Beach, FL

1977    Marian Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Hanson-Cowles Gallery, Minneapolis, MI
Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY
Galerie Le Portrail, Heidelberg, Germany

1976    Morgan Gallery, Shawnee Mission, KS
Delahunty Gallery, Dallas, TX

1975    The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD, Group Show
Gallerie Krakeslatt, Bromolla, Sweden
Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY
Deson-Saks Gallery, Chicago, IL

1974    Marian Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Galerie Ahlner, Stockholm, Sweden
Galerie Fabian Carlsson, Goteborg, Sweden
Galleriet Lund, Sweden

Galerie Arnesen, Copenhagen, Denmark
1973    Marian Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer, New York, NY
Galerie Rickerman, Cologne, Germany

1971    O.K. Harris Gallery, New York, NY

1970    Henri Gallery, Washington, DC
Marian Locks Gallery, PA
Atelier Chapman Kelly, Dallas, TX

1969    Vanderlip Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

1968    Temple University, Philadelphia, PA

1965    Atelier Chapman Kelly  , Dallas, TX