James Eli Bowden
Peotone, IL
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
Paintings
My paintings are abstract, painted in a flat, hard edge style. They are preconceived but are not burdened by theory. The paintings are based on detailed small-scale studies that are products of a playful, intuitive approach. The paintings represent themselves, rather than being representational. The forms don't symbolize or describe anything outside of the painting.
For me, a painting should open the minds of viewers to alternatives and ambiguities in the way the world is seen. My paintings represent themselves, rather than being representational. The forms don't symbolize or describe anything outside of the painting and provide direct experiences for viewers to recognize and understand the connections that organize and create the pictorial space.
Painted with acrylic on PVC panels, the paintings are abstract and focused on creating pictorial space on the flat surfaces. In some of my paintings, the space is created entirely with painted forms. In others, space is created by the interaction of painted forms and cut out shapes that are adhered to the surface.
Shape and color are assimilated to develop tension and an ambiguous space that first appears one way, then changes into something different. I set out to create a painting that has contradictory qualities. First, the painting communicates its energy instantly. Second, it has possible readings that only become apparent after the viewer has looked at the painting for a while. I feel the true reward is the pleasure of discovering allusive layers of vision in the same painting.
By closely adhering to the small-scale studies, upon which the painting is based to a large degree, the composition is predetermined before it goes on the canvas, but sometimes sections are not right on the canvas and must be changed. Because I want an unspoiled surface, areas that are to be changed must be scraped flat before making the changes so that ridges from the previous image are not visible under the new surface.
The use of the small-scale studies implies modularity and enables the production of nearly identical paintings in different scales. Using the composition structure of "Portrait", a small, light green vertical painting, I created "Cassidy Red", which is much larger in size, the color is red and the format is horizontal.
Stand-Alone Cutouts
The cutouts are made from a sheet of PVC plastic and given bases that allow them to stand and be seen from both sides – an intentional visual challenge between front and backsides. Some of the cut out images are simple, while others are complex. The images are created by both painting and lamination.
Education:
BS, Northern Illinois University, 1961
MA, University of Illinois-Champaign, 1965
MFA, Northern Illinois University, 1970
Background:
James Bowden, born in Kankakee, Illinois in 1938, is a retired art professor and former teacher (Chicago State University, Murray State University, Chicago Public Schools). He currently owns and operates a graphic arts/signage business, which he started in 1973. In 1980 he decided to put down his artist's brushes in order to concentrate on growing his sign business and restoring his 1917 craftsman-style home. After a 25-year hiatus, Bowden resumed his painting in 2005. He works primarily in the medium of painting, focusing on linear and graphic elements.
Bowden has won awards for his artwork from Western Michigan University (1966), the Gretchen Charlton Art Gallery (2015), Bridgeport Art Center (2020), South Shore Arts (2020, 2021), and CAVA (2022). He has also received numerous mural commissions from major companies in the Chicagoland area, including Northern Trust Corporation, Turtle Wax Corporation, Amphenol North America, Continental Can Company, Kean Brothers, Inc. and Noral Color Corporation.
He has had solo exhibitions of his artwork at South Shore Arts, Chicago State University and Governors State University. His paintings have been included in group exhibitions at Chicago's Art Institute and Cultural Center, as well as at museums and universities in Illinois, Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Michigan.
Bowden lives and works in Peotone, Illinois.