Justin Bower depicts his subjects as destabilized and fractured post-humans within a complex network of interconnected spatial systems. His paintings raise questions about our self-definition in the digital era, hinting at the difficulty of fully grasping such an elusive concept. The continuous decoding of the human body, unraveling the genetic makeup of each individual, poses a profound question: "What are we? Can I be reduced to a code that can be endlessly replicated?" Bower's paintings initiate a conversation about the destabilizing impact of technology on individuals in contemporary society.
His artwork mirrors the increasing influence of the "control society" we inhabit. Placing his turbulent subjects within an Op Art framework, Bower employs familiar repeating patterns from the 60s to function as a kind of "code" permeating and invading the body/subject. Bower aims to make the viewer experience the instability reflected in his subjects by manipulating the non-fixed features of the face and the hallucinatory effects of Op Art, potentially rousing them from a technological slumber.
Born in 1975 in San Francisco, Justin Bower earned a Master’s of Fine Arts from Claremont Graduate University in 2010 and an undergraduate degree in Art and Philosophy from the University of Arizona. He currently resides and works in Los Angeles, CA.
Since the early 2000s, Bower's work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including those at the Museum of Art & History – MOAH in Lancaster, CA (2016) and the Torrance Art Museum in Los Angeles (2013, 2010). He has received various grants and awards, such as the Feitelson Fellowship Grant (2010), Joan Mitchell Award Nominee (2010), Four Outstanding Fellowships from Claremont Graduate University (2008-2009), TACFA (Tustin Area Council of Fine Arts) Grant (2008), and Orange County Arts Grant for Drawing, Painting, and Printmaking - Honorable Mention (2007).
Bower's artwork has been featured in publications such as American Art Collector (April 2015), Modern Painters (September 2013: 100 Best Fall Shows), Studio Visit Magazine (2013 cover), Huffington Post (October 2011), Artillery Magazine (December 2010), the LA Times (December 2010), and New American Paintings (December 2010). Justin Bower continues to live and work in Los Angeles, CA.
