![Image of H.J. "Harvey" Bott](/Media/images/Bott_HJ"Harvey".jpg)
H.J. "Harvey" Bott
American, b. 1933
Born in 1933, HJ Bott describes himself as a Baroque Minimalist and is one of the most celebrated artists of his generation. Inspired by such artists as Joseph Albers and Barnet Newman, Bott first came to prominence in the mid 1950s in Germany and France while working as a propaganda analyst for the United States Army. Now living and working in Houston, Texas, Bott continues to create a prolific body of work more than six decades on. Bott's works are included in more than seventy museum and university collections worldwide, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Denver Museum of Art; the New Orleans Museum of Art; and Columbia University, New York.
"CUT-TO-THE-CHASE" BIO:
Born in Colorado. Attended adult life-drawing classes for five years at Greeley State College, starting age 9, first major two-person exhibit at Trinity University at 14. At 15, owned a scale modeling business for architectural firms. Therewith began a Tri-Coastal and European education AND exhibition process; including galleries, art centers and museums in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Houston, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Denver, Koln, Dusseldorf, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City and many others. Over 75 solo exhibitions, 16 solo ROBOTT performances, 24 in-situ installations, more than 700 group exhibitions, including over 330 invitational group surveys. Over 61 public (museum, city & university) and 120 corporate collections include the work. Completed 20 governmental and over 160 private and corporate commissions. Current studio concentration: painting, executing relief-constructs and researching light/sound/images in hyperspace-like installations. First and only American sculptor to win "Premier les plus Sculpture," Prix de Paris, 1965. "Plastik Reisestipedium/Europa," "Koln Kunstuerein, Plastik Kunste," 1956, only American to win.
OR, ANOTHER QUICKIE STATEMENT BIO:
From German-Russian family. Tri-coastal school-housing and across the A-pond. 1st solo: bus-depot restroom, Wendover, Utah, 1951. Making art since 4 years of age, way too much stuff. Museums, universities and other public spaces own the goods, lots of unsuspecting government and corporate spaces, as well as, numerous "very discriminating" private souls. Hundreds of invitational juried affairs around the planet and pages of group shows; but, most bio lines no longer mean anything to anyone but the artist, and there are hundreds; including essays, reviews, ads and puff articles. I try to make a few memorable things and maybe that might mean something to someone before it all dissipates.
AND, NOW COMES THE VERBOSE APPROACH (statement oriented)
BEFORE hitting the RESUME':
As stated in the DoV System Concepts section, herein (note: to the left, Table of Contents) I perceive myself as a dedicated Baroque-Minimalist obsessed with the formal aesthetic issues of the Phenomenon-of-the-LINE, and its inherent context combat with circle/square/1st-issues; AND, much non-overt social commentary through simplistic cross-cultural symbols. I have very catholic tastes but very discriminating about craft/ content/context mix and projected sense-of-purpose. Since quality is always subjective; but as artists, hopefully we will always recognize craft as our first responsibility; therewith, we may develop our own language of freedom that means to resolve issues of aesthetic "progress" and sociometric dynamics. Internally we just might seek quintessential endorphin demographics, an unique Zeitgeist for a very personal avant guarde vocabulary while avoiding the temptations of the studio becoming a factory; and, let us absorb every bit and throw of technology yet principally hands-on. So much like life itself, ALL art is narrative, quite simply, PERSPECTIVE & AGENDA for the living.
That does NOT mean to say I think our work must be "ever newer," relative to the mainstream lexicons of "ADForum-gospel" to be worthy of viewership, I just don't want to beat the same drums that no longer retain skins-of-purpose/interest. Hopefully my work will challenge the viewer about time, place, aesthetic issues and purpose ......... otherwise it is likely just eye candy, market-driven "stuff" (even the funky-dunky, marks-a-lot, hip of the season, shit-on-a-wall).
Finally, yes, I seem to have a strong proclivity for the proliferation of both verbatim content and inherent context of equivocal clarity found in what we may call quotes making a difference; to wit, as Marlene Dietrich is to have said, "I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized wiser than oneself."
FAVORITE ARTISTS:
Certainly we are all influenced by MANY artists, deeply admiring their work, the genre, sense-of-purpose, intent and presentation; as well as, appreciate the work of MANY more. This first list is about only absolute favorites, many quite obvious ANTECEDENTS, that I herewith extol as they have, and likely still, influence/stimulate my thinking and productivity (with some ranking via caps):
Yaacov Agam, JOSEPH ALBERS, Arakawa, Lorenzo Bernini, Charles Biederman, MAX BILL, Ilya Bolotansky, Eduardo Chillida, CARLOS CRUZ-DIEZ, JIMMY ERNST, Max Ernst, Herbert Ferber, Sue Fuller, NAUM GABBO, GEGO, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Dimitri Hadzi, Bernard Heiliger, AL HELD, Barbara Hepworth, FRANK KUPKA, JULIO LE PAC, Alexander Lieberman, RICHARD LIPPOLD, EL LISSYTZKY, Kazimar Malivich, Piet Mondrian, HENRY MOORE, MOHOLY NAGY, Barnett Newman, Ben Nicolson, HELIO OITICIA, Alicia Penabla, ANTONIO PEVSNER, LEON POLK-SMITH, Arnaldo Pomodoro, LIUBOV POPOVA, Jean Pierre Raynaud, Ad Reinhardt, GEORGE RICKEY, ALEXANDER RODCHENKO, Tony Rosenthal, ROBERT RYMAN, JESUS-RAFFAEL SOTO, Fred Sandback, Pierre Soulages, Clyford Still, GEORGE SUGARMAN, THEO van DOESBERG, Gunther Uecker, GEORGES VANTONGERLOO, Victor Vasserely, Mary Vieira, CHRISTOPHER WILMARTH, Isaac Witkin, Frank Lloyd Wright, Jack Youngerman.
Then there are the artists that must be listed as ABSOLUTE, knock-me-on-my ass favorites, a list that shall be ever ongoing, AFTER the aforementioned: Henri-Georges Adams, Peter Agostini, Chuck Arnoldi, Maria Artemis, Ilan Averbuch, Alice Aycok, Bruce Beasley, Lynda Benglis, Fletcher Benton, Linda Besemer, Andre Bloc, Laurent Boccara, Mel Bochner, Lee Bontecou, Lee Bul, Reg Butler, Sergio Carmargo, Penny Cerling, Lygia Clark, Richard Claque, Alberto Collie, Petah Coyne, Tony Cragg, Bill Davenport, Ronald Davis, Richard Deacon, Tony Delap, David Deming, Jim Dine, Michael Dunbar, Olafar Eliasson, Sharon Engelstein, Ayes Erkmen, Manuel Espinosa, Gabriele Evertz, early Frank Falkner, Andy Feehan, Garland Fielder, Loser Feitelson, Bill Fitzgibbons, Don Foster, Dixie Friend-Gay, Carol Gerhardt, Andy Goldsworthy, Nancy Graves, David Gray, Don Gummer, Dimitri Hadzi, Ron Hartgrove, Joe Havel, Eva Hess, Bernard Heiliger, John Henry, Tracy Hicks, Phillipe Hiquily, Robert (McCoy) Hughs, Robert Irwin, Richard Johnson, Ben Kamahara, Anish Kapoor, Craig Kauffman, Mel Kendrick, David Kinder, Chapman Kelley, David Kinder, Phillip King, Gabriel Kohn, Agapetus A. Kristiandana, Mernet Larsen, Seymour Lipton, Joe Mancuso, Joseph Marrioni, Agnes Martin, David Middlebrook, Allen McCollum, John McCraken, David McGee, Clement Meadmore, Julie Mehretu, Mary Miss, Francois Morellot, Jill Moser, Matt Mullican, Oscar Munoz, Steve Murphy, John Newman, Xavier Nuez, Henrique Olivira, Dennis Oppenheim, Albert Paley, Marta Pan, Ricardo Paniagua, Aaron Parazette, Guillaome Pouchoux, Martin Puryear, Richard Posette-Dart, Harvey Quaytman, R.H. Quaytman, Krishna Reddy, Peter Reginato, Deborah Remington, Patrick Renner, Gerhardt Richter, Cinita Rico, Bridget Riley, Dorthea Rockburn, James Rosati, Dean Ruck, Shuli Sadé, Julius Schmidt, Sean Scully, Richard Serra, Ranjani Shettar, Jay Shinn, Tony Smith, Kenneth Snelson, Frank Stella, Al Souza, Francois Stahly, Earl Staley, Richard Stankiewicz, Richard Stout, Anthony Thompson Shumate, Hans Staartjes, Graham Sutherland, Robert Swain, De Wain Valentine, Philip Taaffe, Masura Takiguchi, Jackie Tillison, Luis Tomasello, Nester Topchy, Ernest Trova, Elizabeth Turk, early James Turrell, Robin Utterback, Mark Verstockt, Bill Watterson, Mac Whitney, Robert Wilson, James Wines, Ben Woetina, Wucius Wong, Chris Yormick, Jack Zajac.
These lists may seem far too formidable, yet think of the HUNDREDS of artists we ALL revere that are NOT listed, including many very close friends that I greatly admire. I feel compelled to say there is a great discerning spread about preparing these lists between liking, approving, admiring, appreciating and then the veneration of being influenced by and/or humbly in awe. Everyone needs to know about the work by these very influentially important artists.
Source: hjbott.com
American, b. 1933
Born in 1933, HJ Bott describes himself as a Baroque Minimalist and is one of the most celebrated artists of his generation. Inspired by such artists as Joseph Albers and Barnet Newman, Bott first came to prominence in the mid 1950s in Germany and France while working as a propaganda analyst for the United States Army. Now living and working in Houston, Texas, Bott continues to create a prolific body of work more than six decades on. Bott's works are included in more than seventy museum and university collections worldwide, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Denver Museum of Art; the New Orleans Museum of Art; and Columbia University, New York.
"CUT-TO-THE-CHASE" BIO:
Born in Colorado. Attended adult life-drawing classes for five years at Greeley State College, starting age 9, first major two-person exhibit at Trinity University at 14. At 15, owned a scale modeling business for architectural firms. Therewith began a Tri-Coastal and European education AND exhibition process; including galleries, art centers and museums in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Houston, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Denver, Koln, Dusseldorf, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City and many others. Over 75 solo exhibitions, 16 solo ROBOTT performances, 24 in-situ installations, more than 700 group exhibitions, including over 330 invitational group surveys. Over 61 public (museum, city & university) and 120 corporate collections include the work. Completed 20 governmental and over 160 private and corporate commissions. Current studio concentration: painting, executing relief-constructs and researching light/sound/images in hyperspace-like installations. First and only American sculptor to win "Premier les plus Sculpture," Prix de Paris, 1965. "Plastik Reisestipedium/Europa," "Koln Kunstuerein, Plastik Kunste," 1956, only American to win.
OR, ANOTHER QUICKIE STATEMENT BIO:
From German-Russian family. Tri-coastal school-housing and across the A-pond. 1st solo: bus-depot restroom, Wendover, Utah, 1951. Making art since 4 years of age, way too much stuff. Museums, universities and other public spaces own the goods, lots of unsuspecting government and corporate spaces, as well as, numerous "very discriminating" private souls. Hundreds of invitational juried affairs around the planet and pages of group shows; but, most bio lines no longer mean anything to anyone but the artist, and there are hundreds; including essays, reviews, ads and puff articles. I try to make a few memorable things and maybe that might mean something to someone before it all dissipates.
AND, NOW COMES THE VERBOSE APPROACH (statement oriented)
BEFORE hitting the RESUME':
As stated in the DoV System Concepts section, herein (note: to the left, Table of Contents) I perceive myself as a dedicated Baroque-Minimalist obsessed with the formal aesthetic issues of the Phenomenon-of-the-LINE, and its inherent context combat with circle/square/1st-issues; AND, much non-overt social commentary through simplistic cross-cultural symbols. I have very catholic tastes but very discriminating about craft/ content/context mix and projected sense-of-purpose. Since quality is always subjective; but as artists, hopefully we will always recognize craft as our first responsibility; therewith, we may develop our own language of freedom that means to resolve issues of aesthetic "progress" and sociometric dynamics. Internally we just might seek quintessential endorphin demographics, an unique Zeitgeist for a very personal avant guarde vocabulary while avoiding the temptations of the studio becoming a factory; and, let us absorb every bit and throw of technology yet principally hands-on. So much like life itself, ALL art is narrative, quite simply, PERSPECTIVE & AGENDA for the living.
That does NOT mean to say I think our work must be "ever newer," relative to the mainstream lexicons of "ADForum-gospel" to be worthy of viewership, I just don't want to beat the same drums that no longer retain skins-of-purpose/interest. Hopefully my work will challenge the viewer about time, place, aesthetic issues and purpose ......... otherwise it is likely just eye candy, market-driven "stuff" (even the funky-dunky, marks-a-lot, hip of the season, shit-on-a-wall).
Finally, yes, I seem to have a strong proclivity for the proliferation of both verbatim content and inherent context of equivocal clarity found in what we may call quotes making a difference; to wit, as Marlene Dietrich is to have said, "I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized wiser than oneself."
FAVORITE ARTISTS:
Certainly we are all influenced by MANY artists, deeply admiring their work, the genre, sense-of-purpose, intent and presentation; as well as, appreciate the work of MANY more. This first list is about only absolute favorites, many quite obvious ANTECEDENTS, that I herewith extol as they have, and likely still, influence/stimulate my thinking and productivity (with some ranking via caps):
Yaacov Agam, JOSEPH ALBERS, Arakawa, Lorenzo Bernini, Charles Biederman, MAX BILL, Ilya Bolotansky, Eduardo Chillida, CARLOS CRUZ-DIEZ, JIMMY ERNST, Max Ernst, Herbert Ferber, Sue Fuller, NAUM GABBO, GEGO, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Dimitri Hadzi, Bernard Heiliger, AL HELD, Barbara Hepworth, FRANK KUPKA, JULIO LE PAC, Alexander Lieberman, RICHARD LIPPOLD, EL LISSYTZKY, Kazimar Malivich, Piet Mondrian, HENRY MOORE, MOHOLY NAGY, Barnett Newman, Ben Nicolson, HELIO OITICIA, Alicia Penabla, ANTONIO PEVSNER, LEON POLK-SMITH, Arnaldo Pomodoro, LIUBOV POPOVA, Jean Pierre Raynaud, Ad Reinhardt, GEORGE RICKEY, ALEXANDER RODCHENKO, Tony Rosenthal, ROBERT RYMAN, JESUS-RAFFAEL SOTO, Fred Sandback, Pierre Soulages, Clyford Still, GEORGE SUGARMAN, THEO van DOESBERG, Gunther Uecker, GEORGES VANTONGERLOO, Victor Vasserely, Mary Vieira, CHRISTOPHER WILMARTH, Isaac Witkin, Frank Lloyd Wright, Jack Youngerman.
Then there are the artists that must be listed as ABSOLUTE, knock-me-on-my ass favorites, a list that shall be ever ongoing, AFTER the aforementioned: Henri-Georges Adams, Peter Agostini, Chuck Arnoldi, Maria Artemis, Ilan Averbuch, Alice Aycok, Bruce Beasley, Lynda Benglis, Fletcher Benton, Linda Besemer, Andre Bloc, Laurent Boccara, Mel Bochner, Lee Bontecou, Lee Bul, Reg Butler, Sergio Carmargo, Penny Cerling, Lygia Clark, Richard Claque, Alberto Collie, Petah Coyne, Tony Cragg, Bill Davenport, Ronald Davis, Richard Deacon, Tony Delap, David Deming, Jim Dine, Michael Dunbar, Olafar Eliasson, Sharon Engelstein, Ayes Erkmen, Manuel Espinosa, Gabriele Evertz, early Frank Falkner, Andy Feehan, Garland Fielder, Loser Feitelson, Bill Fitzgibbons, Don Foster, Dixie Friend-Gay, Carol Gerhardt, Andy Goldsworthy, Nancy Graves, David Gray, Don Gummer, Dimitri Hadzi, Ron Hartgrove, Joe Havel, Eva Hess, Bernard Heiliger, John Henry, Tracy Hicks, Phillipe Hiquily, Robert (McCoy) Hughs, Robert Irwin, Richard Johnson, Ben Kamahara, Anish Kapoor, Craig Kauffman, Mel Kendrick, David Kinder, Chapman Kelley, David Kinder, Phillip King, Gabriel Kohn, Agapetus A. Kristiandana, Mernet Larsen, Seymour Lipton, Joe Mancuso, Joseph Marrioni, Agnes Martin, David Middlebrook, Allen McCollum, John McCraken, David McGee, Clement Meadmore, Julie Mehretu, Mary Miss, Francois Morellot, Jill Moser, Matt Mullican, Oscar Munoz, Steve Murphy, John Newman, Xavier Nuez, Henrique Olivira, Dennis Oppenheim, Albert Paley, Marta Pan, Ricardo Paniagua, Aaron Parazette, Guillaome Pouchoux, Martin Puryear, Richard Posette-Dart, Harvey Quaytman, R.H. Quaytman, Krishna Reddy, Peter Reginato, Deborah Remington, Patrick Renner, Gerhardt Richter, Cinita Rico, Bridget Riley, Dorthea Rockburn, James Rosati, Dean Ruck, Shuli Sadé, Julius Schmidt, Sean Scully, Richard Serra, Ranjani Shettar, Jay Shinn, Tony Smith, Kenneth Snelson, Frank Stella, Al Souza, Francois Stahly, Earl Staley, Richard Stankiewicz, Richard Stout, Anthony Thompson Shumate, Hans Staartjes, Graham Sutherland, Robert Swain, De Wain Valentine, Philip Taaffe, Masura Takiguchi, Jackie Tillison, Luis Tomasello, Nester Topchy, Ernest Trova, Elizabeth Turk, early James Turrell, Robin Utterback, Mark Verstockt, Bill Watterson, Mac Whitney, Robert Wilson, James Wines, Ben Woetina, Wucius Wong, Chris Yormick, Jack Zajac.
These lists may seem far too formidable, yet think of the HUNDREDS of artists we ALL revere that are NOT listed, including many very close friends that I greatly admire. I feel compelled to say there is a great discerning spread about preparing these lists between liking, approving, admiring, appreciating and then the veneration of being influenced by and/or humbly in awe. Everyone needs to know about the work by these very influentially important artists.
Source: hjbott.com
Artist Objects
Untitled 2003.005
Artist Images