Abstract Artist | Color, Movement & Time
Howard Ziff is a New York based abstract artist working primarily with acrylic on canvas. He first studied at the Art Students League of New York as a teenager, encountering the artistic language of the New York School. After several decades devoted to family and a business career, he returned to the League before establishing his own studio practice.
Artistic Approach
Ziff’s paintings explore space, time and lived experience. Drawing inspiration from Matisse’s color and simplicity and Pollock’s interconnected marks, he builds layered compositions using rollers, sponges and palette knives. Saturated color, gestural movement and traces of earlier layers bring a sense of accumulated experience to his canvases. His black and white works extend this exploration through contrast, rhythm and spatial relationships.
Exhibitions & Collaborations
His work has been included in group exhibitions at Lichtundfire on New York’s Lower East Side and Pictor Gallery in Chelsea. His practice encompasses private commissions and collaborations with interior designers, including Robin Baron of Robin Baron Design, for whom he created works including Gold, Maharajah and Southern Hemisphere.
Art in the Interior
Ziff’s large canvases bring color, movement and visual depth to an interior. His layered abstractions can serve as a focal point, while his black and white compositions offer a graphic presence. His experience creating commissioned works supports a considered dialogue between painting and the space it inhabits.
