Pools of Tranquility

Cecil Howard’s Pools of Tranquility was included in The Armory Show, a series of contemporary art exhibitions organized in 1977 in the old armory buildings in Santa Fe. The exhibitions were independently organized and promoted as a showcase of the diverse work being produced in New Mexico.

At the time, Howard served as faculty at Western New Mexico University in Silver City, a position he had held since 1963. He taught ceramics and sculpture yet worked in multiple media. Pools of Tranquility demonstrates the breadth of Howard’s practice as it straddles traditional boundaries between painting and sculpture. Howard drew on a variety of ornamental materials from architectural motifs to the scales of fish to create a textural assemblage that seemingly invites touch. His title, however, suggests a less active engagement between the viewer and the piece. The blue and greens recall pools of water that might evoke a more meditative response.