Show Preview | Eric Bowman

For an artist to have work regularly on view in galleries is one thing, but hitting a milestone exhibition at a location is another. Eric Bowman’s spring exhibition celebrates a decade of representation at Maxwell Alexander Gallery, which has become a fixture for collectors seeking Western and regional art.

Bowman shares that being represented by the Pasadena, California-based gallery for the past decade has been both a pleasure and a boon to his career. “[Gallery owner] Beau Alexander has been more than generous with direction and exposure, opening doors to major museum shows and connections with top collectors,” Bowman says. “I feel extremely blessed to be in the stable of artists at Maxwell Alexander Gallery and believe wholeheartedly in the vision they have.”

After a successful career in commercial art, Bowman began exploring fine art painting in the late 1990s. Inspired by the high standards of painting from a century ago, he has since evolved to a unique blend of New World and Old World styles—one that is firmly grounded in the landscapes he lives and breathes.

A recipient of numerous awards, including the Express Ranches Great American Cowboy Award at the 2021 Prix de West at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Bowman says his work features familiar Western subject matter, but not typical depictions. His paintings are often layered in shadow and light, acting as narrative within the composition. Much of his work is created on site, painted plein air during his travels throughout the Southwest, then combined with what he calls “memory and a healthy dose of imagination.”

For Bowman’s 10th anniversary exhibition, aptly titled DECADE, he is aiming for a baker’s dozen of oil paintings on canvas, linen or gessoed panel, in sizes ranging from 20 by 16 inches to 48 by 48 inches. All of them are the culmination of more than a year of studio time.

“Because of the early start time, these pieces have had more hours in the studio than normal,” he says. “Each one went through at least one—or more—extra tweaking sessions, sometimes months after I thought they were finished.”

Bowman is drawn to Western themes such as the great outdoors where his paintings, including several in this show, combine man and animal in the natural sunlight of the American Southwest. He is also exhibiting a few interior scenes inspired by his time working with local Taos residents at Couse-Sharp Historic Site in New Mexico.

“The director of the site, Davison Koenig, was generous in allowing me access to the interior of the E.I. Couse homestead and studio, where pottery and other paraphernalia remain authentic from over 100 years ago,” Bowman explains.

With the impression of his craft more important than subject matter alone, Bowman says it is the act of painting itself that he hopes to put on display. “If the finished piece can draw interest through pleasing shape, color and texture alone, then I’ve succeeded,” he says. “I’m certainly focused on the beauty of the subject, but if I can get the viewer to resonate with the construction of that beauty as well, then it’s a win-win.” —Doreen Manning

contact information(213) 275-1060Maxwellalexandergallery.com

This story appeared in the April/May 2026 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Subscribe today to read every issue in its entirety.

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