Troy, New York Nov 3, 2020 (Issuewire.com) - Visual Artist Michelle Bowen recently premiered her latest painting entitled, “Real and Fake Inside News in Huelitic Code,” to express the insidious threat fake news has on our democracy. What she didn't expect was that a photo she snapped of a little girl at the exhibition's opening would give her a profound sense of hope on this historic election day.
"My work with the Huelitic Code is about disrupting language and searching for truth," Bowen states. "The current political peddling of 'fake news' has sadly left even truthful communications questionable… and that’s why I waited to premiere this painting as close to the election as possible."
Yet Bowen didn't feel much relief during or after completing the painting. No refuge in the expression. Just more questions and uncertainty.
That is until she remembered a photo she took. On the evening of the art opening, Bowen was deep in conversation with a patron and glanced over to see a young girl intently looking at the painting. Thinking it was "just a cute moment," Bowen snapped a photo.
"But today, I felt something shift. For some reason, I thought of that little girl looking earnestly at a painting in a color-coded language (i.e., Huelitic Code) she didn't know and couldn't possibly read. She seemed so absorbed in the wonder of it all, examining everything with an open heart and free mind. It’s was a vision of hope. And with that hope, I cast my presidential vote today feeling lighter than I've felt in years."
“Real and Fake Inside News,” is part of a group exhibition entitled, “The Other Virus.” It can be viewed until November 22, 2020, at 344 2nd Street Gallery, Troy, New York. Friday-Sunday 1 pm-5 pm or by appointment.
About the Artwork:
Bowen continues her characteristic geometric quasi-abstract style in “Real and Fake Inside News." The word “news” is spelled out in Huelitic Code multiple times via nested rectangles and then the words “real” and “fake” in Huelitic Code are positioned in various places inside the “news.”
Bowen further explains, "I repurposed a mechanically created painting of a city street found on eBay and left the image slightly exposed around the edges as I painted over it. It was challenging to hard-edge style paint on such a wonky substrate," says Bowen. "But as I struggled, it felt symbolic of what the public and journalists have to constantly deal with… wonkiness day and night." Finally, she reinstalled the overly embellished frame.
About the Artist:
Michelle Bowen is a fine artist who lives and works in Upstate New York. By changing each letter of the English alphabet to a uniquely colored rectangle, coined Huelitic Code, her work provokes a look beyond the four walls of language and its perceived fixed and fundamental nature.
Bowen's 2019-2020 solo exhibition, "Huelitic Code: Language Through a Prism," enjoyed thousands of visitors and numerous news and magazine features. Bowen is a selected member of the New York Council for the Arts-funded 2020 Critical Artist Forum and currently has work in group exhibitions.
For more information visit www.michellebowenart.com or @michellebowenart (Instagram)
Media Contact
Artist Michelle Bowen michellebowenart@gmail.com 518-281-2987 http://www.michellebowenart.com
