Balls of St. Mary's (Black Widow) - K. Johnson Bowles
mixed media ☆
mixed media ☆
2025, mixed media, 20 x 24 inches
K. Johnson Bowles’ work has been exhibited nationally in more than 80 solo and group exhibitions and featured in more than 55 national and international literary magazines. She has been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Visual Studies Workshop, and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. She holds an MFA from Ohio University and BFA from Boston University.
(Un)answered Prayers is a series of assemblages created from fabric, notions, and found objects. The collective meaning of the works points to the nature of conflict, ancestorial wisdom, transitions, and life challenges. With Southern Gothic sensibilities coupled with Black Irish-inspired humor, the works signify lost faith, longing, isolation, sarcasm, irony, and anger. They point to the complex nature of resiliency, courage, integrity, and inner strength.
The series continues Bowles autobiographical works influenced by her upbringing in the Roman Catholic Church (nonpracticing) and life in the American South, along with her Irish American heritage. Artistic influences related to this series include Dutch still life painting and ritual religious objects/practices found globally .
