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Finding His Place
Peeler Howell is straightforward, soft-spoken, and reflective, which makes sense for a guy who studied philosophy, worked with demanding constituents for a state representative, taught high school government, and is the father of two children with his wife, Trish.
Then you get the Fort Worth native to talk about art.
He hops around his four-wall gallery on Locke Avenue across from Railhead Smokehouse BBQ, showing off works in the current show, Unveiled: 2.0.
First there’s the Canadian artist Laurie Skantzos, whose minimalist oval wall structures, or Portals, deceive the viewer into thinking they’re lit up.
“Her work is arresting,” Howell said.
Then he jumps to nearby paintings by Philadelphia-based Tom Judd, which offer a surreal and nostalgic look at the American West. Behind his desk is a massive canvas by Adam Fung, an art professor at Texas Christian University (TCU), reflecting the violence wrought by climate change.
Peeler Howell Fine Art, which opened this year, represents nearly a dozen artists who range established artists like Tony Saladino to early career artists like Fort Worth-based Engeline Logtenberg.
Photo courtesy of J. Peeler HowellMadew
Logtenberg, who paints large scale still lifes of everyday objects, joined Howell from William Campbell. She praised Howell and his advocacy for his artists. “Peeler cares about the artists he represents. To him, their development and story behind the artwork is of equal importance as the quality of the finished product. I admire his courage, enthusiasm, and integrity and am delighted to join him in this new endeavor. I am very curious and excited of what this collaboration will bring in the future,” she said.
Howell must meet the artist in their studio regardless of the distance. It’s out of respect to the artist as much as it is to see if the artist is a right fit for his clientele.
“The artists are in their own space. They are more relaxed, comfortable in their own space, and talk about their work more candidly,” he said.
Howell’s academic background isn’t in art. In fact, he dodged it. While at TCU, he took numerous studio art classes. But in his sophomore year, his advisor told him he only had 48 hours to declare a major. He just wasn’t ready to pursue a degree in studio art.
“So, I chose philosophy,” Howell said. His path as an art dealer was preceded by numerous detours.
His second degree at least has “art” in it: Master of Liberal Arts, also from TCU. Between 2005 and 2007, he was a substitute teacher of government at his alma mater, Trinity Valley School (TVS). In 2008, he was district director for former Representative Mark Shelton. After Shelton lost a bid for the state senate in 2008 to former State Senator Wendy Davis, Howell transitioned to social media consulting for Legintel, a software compiling legislative information for clients.
But Howell dabbled in art. He’d previously helped fellow TVS alums J.W. Wilson and Lauren Childs set up a one-day pop up show at the former Shipping and Receiving Bar on the Near Southside. “We were building frames and hanging art until we opened,” he said. The show ultimately led to Fort Works Art, now a bastion of the Fort Worth art scene.
“It was a huge amount of fun to scramble,” he said.
In August 2017, Howell finally got a professional art gig as a gallery assistant at the venerable William Campbell Art Gallery, where he worked until December 2020.
Now Howell not only sells work but paints too. His painting style is right out of Grimm’s fairy tales and other children’s stories. He calls his works “dreamscapes.” To him, “the soft bright colors are really interesting for a four-year-old child.” There’s a star in almost every one of his paintings.
The genesis of his work was his love of books, especially children’s books. “I was completely taken away by the works of James Harriott, Where the Wild Things Are, and Grimm’s fairy tales.
“They scared the crap out of me,” he said.
His appreciation of art also derived from his parents’ collection of Santa Fe artists, such as Kent Wallis, and from the trips he and his family took when he was growing up. He likes to say while his friends went to summer camp, his family “would fly somewhere and take a road trip from there.” Their wanderings took the from Jackson Hole to New England, from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Coast.
After years of wandering, Peeler Howell has found his place.
