About Henry Koffler
It was January 2013. I had recently turned 90 and was recovering from emergency surgery and a long recuperation. My neighbor Virginia Richardson, knowing of my interest in the arts and my ownership of a tablet, encouraged me to try my hand at art. When I began using my tablet to do abstract images, I discovered my true medium.
Thus began my artistic career at the age of 90.
Thus began my artistic career at the age of 90.
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All my life I have been a passionate visitor of art museums and galleries, and was drawn early on to abstract art.
As an adult, I created abstract paintings in my head before falling asleep. Sadly, I had little formal instruction in the arts. Instead, I collected the works of others. I use Autodesk Sketchbook Pro on my iPad. Sketchbook enables me to vary color, size, and opacity with preset “brushes”, giving me almost limitless combinations.
I start with a bare canvas on my iPad screen, carrying my studio with me. Rent is cheap. There are no purchases of canvas, brushes, or paints. There is no waste. I am not exposed to solvents nor must I wait for paint to dry, and there is no need to clean sticky brushes or messy workspaces. Perhaps most importantly, I can correct mistakes easily. In fact, I can use my eraser tool not only to fix mistakes but also as a carving knife to sculpt shapes. These advantages enable me to work fast and spontaneously. |
Henry at 20
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Henry at 91
Photograph courtesy of Blair Phillips Friederich |
Almost all my paintings derive from my inner landscape. No doubt I am influenced by my many years as a microbiologist and molecular biologist, when I did research on structure-function relationships at the cellular and subcellular level. At times I cannot tell where my scientific memories end and my imagination begins. Many people do not enjoy abstract art because they consider it “unreal”. They may not understand that there is a beautiful “real” world out there that they cannot see — either because it is too small or too vast, accessible only with the aid of scientific instruments such as microscopes and telescopes. I intentionally do not name my paintings because I want you to see in them what you see and not what I tell you to see. I love the world I portray and hope that these images will bring you insights and joy. Is it possible that these images represent reality somewhere and sometime in our evolving universe? Henry Koffler
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Read Henry's bio here
Read his obituary.
Read his obituary.