RICHARD BOWMAN
1918-2001, United StatesRichard Bowman (1918–2001) was a pivotal figure in the art scene in Northern California in the mid-twentieth century. Bowman had solo shows at the SFMOMA (then called the San Francisco Museum of Art) in the 60s and 70s and a solo show at Stanford in the 50s. He also showed at the Art Institute of Chicago (1945), Rose Fried Gallery (1945), Milwaukee Art Institute (1946), and Rose Rabow Gallery (1959-1977).
In 1962, two of Bowman’s paintings were included in the seminal exhibition 50 California Artists at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Bowman was also included in the Sao Paulo Biennial in 1953-1954. Bowman’s fluorescent abstractions are informed by his interests in surrealism, transcendentalism, and sub-atomic physics. His circle in the Bay Area included Lee Mullican, J.B. Blunk, Fred Reichman, Gordon Onslow Ford, and Ruth Asawa, as well as poet Kenneth Patchen. He was active in the region from the time he settled there in the 50s until his death in 2001.
Text courtesy The Landing
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