"Koplin Del Rio is pleased to present "Spillways", a collection of recent paintings full of wonder, dread and absurdity from Oakland-based artist and Washington State native Sean Howe. This is the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. Drawing on traditions of mapmaking, world-building, and automatic drawing & painting, Howe’s work focuses heavily on the bonds between the human and natural worlds, teeming with energy, color, and life. Seeking a balance between abstraction and figuration, and shifting between the micro and macro, the works aim to flesh out what may be difficult to perceive with the naked eye. Characters within these constructed planes, once identified, act as guides through humorous and often autobiographical landscapes. Howe’s paintings, layered with ecological concerns, personal experience, and intuition, generate dynamic worlds at once beautiful, alive, and perplexing." (Promo Copy)