Coral Springs, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/16/2014 -- How does an April fools prank lead to a museum show? It starts with a good reputation and years of being followed professionally. Museum Director Bryan Knicely of the Coral Springs Museum or Art saw the spark that inspired an exhibition for enthusiastic painter and former gallery owner Kirsten Bowen. A decade ago Knicely encouraged others to collect Bowen's work. After Kirsten's years as a gallerist, Bowen's frustration with art dealing forced her to create a new path for sales and marketing in the art world, employing social media.

With a measure of frustration, Bowen was creating parallel work to Mel Bochner, featured on the cover of Art in America back in March of this year. Her "blah blah blah" paintings emerged in 2008 before first seeing his work in Elle Décor. Bowen's word paintings grew in their own direction including written content that ranges from irreverent to soulful. Having developed a following on facebook and social media, April 1st prompted Bowen to post a pic of the magazine cover and claim it as her own. "I can't believe I made the cover of Art in America" her post read. After numerous "shares" a long thread of congratulatory remarks, and hundreds of likes Bowen "outed" herself as a prankster and admittedly chuckled devilishly throughout the day. When approached by Knicely in a private message, Kirsten fessed up and tried to redirect his interest in Craig Carlisle, an artist more deserving of his collection. "You should buy one of Craig's pieces!" she said, "He just had a museum show!" "I know," said Knicely. "That's my museum!" As the contemporary art market embraces words as art, what sets Bowen's work apart is that it has all the tactile qualities of an impasto painting yet is created with a fresco technique using colored plasters. (a technique all her own)

With populist tendencies, Bowen's imagery ranges from somewhat predictable landscapes with song lyrics to facial features that incorporate quotes from famous art critics like Holland Cotter and Jonathan Jones. A double ear painting includes a thank you note from Van Gogh to a critic who wrote his first review embedded in the texture. Other works include the lyrics and poems of "off the grid" independents whom Bowen hopes to elevate.

Quips from psychology and some of Kirsten's own perspectives round out the oeuvre with ideas such as "An artist yearns to be misunderstood."While hoping to push the boundaries of marketing art and keeping painting alive, Bowen intends to make strides as a female artist and encourage others to believe in themselves.On view this December 6-27th, her exhibit "Because I Said So" fills the east gallery of the Coral Springs Museum of Art. (2855 Coral Springs Drive Coral Springs, Florida 33065)

Featured in the exhibit will be Bowen's largest corporate scale work to date, "Believe in Yourself" The four panel painting brings fall foliage to the southern coast of Florida and spans over 32 feet. It includes lyrics from 4 different artists including Miami's own Lenny Kravitz. But the question remains, will Bowen be able to live up to her claim of national exposure? With proximity to one of the largest art fairs in the country, Bowen has an unquenchable hope to draw interest from Art Basel Miami Beach as some of the most prominent dealers and collectors migrate to Florida's sunny coast. With a shake of the head, Bowen smiles with disbelief and gratitude for the generous exhibit and the possibility of things to come.

http://coralspringsmuseum.org/kirsten-swanson-bowen-because-i-said-so-dec-6-dec-27-2014/

https://kirstenbowen. com