Meet Aaron Jackson Bowman | Contemporary Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aaron Jackson Bowman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aaron, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
I am not sure how to formulate a tidy response applicable to everyone; but I can say, coincidentally, that I happen to be in the middle of both paths right now, so the question is very timely for me. And before I go into my attempt at an answer, I think it’s important to get across the way I am looking at the term “giving up.” I’m seeing giving up as an action synonymous with letting go or moving on; I’m considering it a positive action. That being said, if I were to start on a macro level, to me the overarching factor that should be held as most valuable to a person pivoting one way or another, to give up or keep going, is fulfillment–the having of it or the absence of it. The parts that may fall under the umbrella of fulfillment, and the degrees and necessities of each, is where the messiness comes in, because everyone’s personal needs, values and goals are unique. As such, admittedly I am missing many ideas that constitute fulfillment, yet some of the things I believe it contains are things such as joy, and sense of purpose, and stimulation of the mind, and living a broader self via connections to non-self things. Generally, fulfillment contains immaterial assets that make a person’s soul feel intact.

No doubt that instances exist for many people, as it does for me right now, in which one’s current state is transitory, in preparation for future betterment, whereas a temporary lack of fulfillment in the present might be necessary to obtain a bigger box of it later. (That could also be characterized as a convenient excuse to not sever ties immediately, but I still believe it to be true!) Otherwise, and in any case, if there is a lack of fulfillment–a sustained lack of fulfillment–then it’s time to give up (move on). And the things that do bring joy, and purpose, and mental wellness, and curiosity, and all the other components I’m involuntarily omitting that can makeup fulfillment, those are the things to seek and hold on to; those are the experiences that should inform a person to keep going.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

Sure.

From a career standpoint, the art is a hustle.  And while I’ve made art most of my life, it’s only the most recent handful of years that I’ve journeyed more into the public eye, exhibiting in cities like Paris, New York, Washington DC, Dallas, Miami, West Palm Beach and Wichita.  For the balance of this year I’m looking forward to a September show in New York and being part of Miami Art Week in December.

And for the art itself—my art is easy.  There are no tricks.  So, if any esotericism becomes attached to the work, it exists only as a result of a viewer’s interpretation.

My pictures lean heavily on free-flow drawing, and are formalized in movement, composition, and accessibility.  The MOVEMENT is generated by the lines that bind the figure(s). And this linework, which is very front and center, flows as a pencil might wander a page, which is indeed where the images originate, from sketches and scribbles.  With a background in architecture I am fond of the arrangement of things; therefore while the COMPOSITION certainly plays a part in the picture’s story, its primary concern is one of superficial aesthetics.  And the notion of ACCESSIBILITY is a notion of approachability, of relatability, of swift recognition, of a consumer-created narrative that is easily imagined.  Again, there are no tricks here.

The work, however, is primarily about process, an aspect I find quite intriguing.

As mentioned, the pictures are born from drawings.  They come from lines, from marks made deliberately and that come in the form of sketches and scribbles and doodles that are drawn on papery things like hotel notepads, sketchbooks, envelopes, cardboard, and vellum.  And while this is not an unbendable rule, the lines are often continuous.  From stacks of drawings, only the favored are selected to be photographed and then subsequently projected and traced onto a canvas—traced because it seems that precisely duplicating the original drawing maintains the purity of its original, uninhibited, organic marks.  To reinforce this idea of purity, the lines that are penciled onto the canvas are respected and stand naked while the oils and acrylics and other mediums make their way around, between, and beyond the linework, blocking-in the composition as if paint-by-number.  For the end product, the trace marks remain visible.

The onset of the process might be characterized as a means of release.  I’m drawing, moving the pencil or crayon or whatever, and the resulting scribbles are kind of primal, something coming from an inner-misbehaving-child, something that’s being projected out both metaphorically and literally.  (And I feel this concept, this rawness, applies not only to the sketches performed without strict intention, but also for those that are predetermined, even those sketches that are very straightforward interpretations of portraiture.)  And then subsequently, once the image is transferred to the canvas, it is via the application of paint that the chaos of the linework becomes calmed, assuaged, a result that attempts to compose but not contain the movement, and does so without concealing the original dilemma.  It hopes to solve the problem but not transcend it.

Simply put, the works are painted drawings, dually attempting to be both sophisticated and elementary, modern and primordial.  The works are decidedly invested in the potency of the line, and celebrate the most basic form of mark-making.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Before I moved to South Florida, every visit to Miami would include hotel hopping in South Beach, a martini here and there, always a stop at the Delano to drool over the Philippe Starck (big fan) interiors. (I think as of 2020 the Delano may be no more?!?!). The scene was always energetic and swanky; and for an out-of-towner it’s a stimulating evening adventure, one I would still recommend now. And also, more so, it would be a shame to not bring friends to Wynwood and spend a full day enjoying the eye-popping art, the boutiques, and the chic restaurants/bars.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My wife Jessica. Her complements and honest critiques have been healthy fuel. A few years ago when I was unintentionally embracing a style in my artwork, I had proclaimed to her that I just wanted to scribble, to which she replied, “then, scribble.” What more encouragement do you need than that? I have certainly had many influential mentors in my life to whom deserve a lot of my gratitude, from college professors to sports coaches to design professionals to my parents, but the people that you interact with on a daily basis, a best friend or a spouse, and for years on end, the support provided by those individuals are so incredibly vital to one’s success(es).

Website: www.aaronjacksonbowman.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/aaronjacksonbowman