K. Johnson Bowles

Bowles’ work has been exhibited nationally in more than 80 solo and group exhibitions and featured in more than 50 national and international literary magazines. She has been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Visual Studies Workshop, and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. She holds an MFA from Ohio University and a BFA from Boston University.

Artist’s Statement

Fight or Flight is a series of assemblages created from wood, plaster casts, ceramic, plastic, and natural materials. The collective meaning of the works points to the nature of conflict, ancestral wisdom, transitions, and life challenges. With an air of Southern Gothic sensibilities coupled with Black Irish-styled humor, the works signify lost faith, longing, belonging, irony, and anger. They point to the complex nature of resiliency, courage, integrity, and inner strength.

The series continues her autobiographical works influenced by her upbringing in the Roman Catholic Church (nonpracticing) and the American South, along with her Irish American heritage. Artistic influences related to this series include visual poetry, Dutch still life painting, and mythology.