Contemplation & Connection

Canyon Contemporary hosts a two-person show featuring Mark Bowles and Ali Rouse.

By Alyssa M. Tidwell

The Gate to Heavenis a new series of acrylic paintings by Mark Bowles of ascending, contemplative abstractions built around one essential idea: the passage from one state of being into another. “The work began as a meditation on the question of what happens after death, but the structure of the painting—its vertical movement, its quiet luminosity, its sense of an opening above—evolved into a broader visual language for transition itself,” says the artist.

Mark Bowles, The Road to Half Dome, acrylic on canvas, 50 x 60 in.

These pieces are rendered in bold, highly saturated color, as seen in paintings like The Road to Half Dome and As the Sun Rises, both abstractions that still decidedly read as desert scenes. “‘New energy for a new year,’ my daughter Jessica said when she first saw my new work,” Bowles says. “I think that summed it up pretty well.”

Mark Bowles, As the Sun Rises, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 48 in.

Bowles will be showing these latest works during an upcoming duo exhibition titled Mesa Skies with mixed media artist Ali Rouse, who creates intricate beadwork designs on real animal skulls. Her work is a direct connection to the natural world, employing materials like stones, minerals, precious metals and glass beads.

Mesa Skies opens Friday, October 9, at Canyon Road Contemporary Art gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A reception will be held on opening day from 5 to 7 p.m. and includes lively discussions with the artists, as well as live music and cocktails. The show runs through October 18. —