LOS ANGELES — This exhibition offers the first in-depth look at the multifaceted career of Los Angeles-based artist Andrea Bowers (American, b. 1965). Studying at CalArts (California Institute of the Arts) in the early 1990s and part of a generation of artists who established Los Angeles as an international center of contemporary art practice, Bowers has created a body of work over three decades that is both visually and materially rich, while remaining full of conceptual meaning and political intention. From her intricate and labor-intensive drawings that highlight the power of the individual to her large scale installation projects that move beyond the gallery and exist within ongoing social justice movements, her diverse body of work represents an aesthetic and material sensibility matched only by the artist’s commitment to enact change.
Since the early 2000s when she began non-violent civil disobedience training in preparation for pro-choice activism, her work has focused on a juncture between feminist politics and environmental activism. Bowers is a student and agent of activism, studying its methods while interviewing, collaborating, and fostering relationships with activists and advocacy groups.
Across a wide range of media including drawing, sculpture, video, and installation, Bowers foregrounds stories of people fighting against injustice and oppression, often embedding herself in activist groups and collaborating with her subjects. From labor organizing and immigration reform to women’s rights and environmental justice, many of the movements Bowers is engaged with have long histories. Their efforts have led to meaningful political, social and environmental change, even as the issues they advocate for remain urgent today. As a result, Bowers’s work documents the deeply entrenched inequities that plague our world—and the intersectionality that connects all these issues to the pursuit of justice. Finding beauty, humanity, and ingenuity in these stories of struggle, Bowers has built a body of work that challenges viewers of her art to confront and be moved, and moved into potential action, by these pressing issues.
The exhibition is co-organized by Connie Butler, chief curator at the Hammer Museum and Michael Darling, former James W. Alsdorf Chief Curator at the MCA. with Hammer curatorial assistant Nika Chilewich.
Andrea Bowers is on view only through Sept. 4. The Hammer Museum is located at 10899 Wilshire Blvd (at Westwood Blvd), near the UCLA campus, Los Angeles 90024. Visiting hours are Tues. through Sun., 11 am to 6 pm. Onsite parking is $7.50, or you may easily get there by public transportation. Admission is free.
Try not to miss it!
Information courtesy of the Hammer Museum.
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