Andrea Bowers: Hope Is Never Silent

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Andrea Bowers: Hope Is Never Silent

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Andrea Bowers<br><em>Recycled Paint Palette Series (Bodily Autonomy Is Gender Equality)</em>, 2025<br>Acrylic on cardboard<br>20.5 x 26 x 3 inches / 50.8 x 66 x 7.62 cm

Andrea Bowers<br><em>Recycled Paint Palette Series (My Body Is Not Your Property)</em>, 2025<br>Acrylic on cardboard<br>31 1/2 x 18 1/2 x 3 inches / 80 x 47 x 7.6 cm

Andrea Bowers<br><em>Recycled Paint Palette Series (Empowered Women)</em>, 2025<br>Acrylic on cardboard<br>18 1/4 x 32 1/2 x 3 inches / 46.4 x 82.5 x 7.6 cm

Andrea Bowers<br><em>We Must Change For the Land to Be Free (Passage from Deena Metzger, “Desperate Acts of Imagination”, Desperate Love Letters to a Wounded Earth, May 19th, 2025), Local Plant Studies</em>, 2025<br>Acrylic on cardboard<br>20 x 20 x 3 inches / 50.8 x 50.8 x 7.6 cm

Andrea Bowers<br><em>There Are Secret Passageways (Passage from Deena Metzger, “Sanctuary in a Time of Dread”, Desperate Love Letters to a Wounded Earth, February 4th, 2025), Local Plant Studies</em>, 2025<br>Acrylic on cardboard<br>20 x 20 x 3 inches / 50.8 x 50.8 x 7.6 cm

Andrea Bowers<br><em>Hope Will Never Be Silent, Quote from Harvey Milk, Castro Theater Marquee</em>, 2025<br>Colored pencil on paper<br>Framed: 24 3/4 x 32 1/4 inches / 60.3 x 81.9 cm Image: 22 1/2 x 30 inches / 57.1 x 76.2 cm

Andrea Bowers<br><em>Wake Up America, Quote from Harvey Milk, Castro Theater Marquee</em>, 2025<br>Colored pencil on paper<br>Framed: 24 3/4 x 32 1/4 inches / 60.3 x 81.9 cm Image: 22 1/2 x 30 inches / 57.1 x 76.2 cm

Andrea Bowers<br><em>I Can Be Killed With Ease, Quote from Harvey Milk, Castro Theater Marquee</em>, 2025<br>Colored pencil on paper<br>Framed: 24 3/4 x 32 1/4 inches / 60.3 x 81.9 cm Image: 22 1/2 x 30 inches / 57.1 x 76.2 cm

Andrea Bowers<br><em>All Human Beings Have Power, Quote from Harvey Milk, Castro Theater Marquee</em>, 2025<br>Colored pencil on paper<br>Framed: 24 3/4 x 32 1/4 inches / 60.3 x 81.9 cm Image: 22 1/2 x 30 inches / 57.1 x 76.2 cm

Andrea Bowers<br><em>There Will Be Another Generation to Take Our Place, Quote from Harvey Milk, Castro Theater Marquee</em>, 2025<br>Colored pencil on paper<br>Framed: 24 3/4 x 32 1/4 inches / 60.3 x 81.9 cm Image: 22 1/2 x 30 inches / 57.1 x 76.2 cm

Andrea Bowers<br><em>It Takes No Compromising to Give People Their Rights, Quote from Harvey Milk, Castro Theater Marquee</em>, 2025<br>Colored pencil on paper<br>Framed: 24 3/4 x 32 1/4 inches / 60.3 x 81.9 cm Image: 22 1/2 x 30 inches / 57.1 x 76.2 cm

Andrea Bowers<br><em>The Spirit of Life Is Just as Important as Its Substance, Quote from Harvey Milk, Castro Theater Marquee</em>, 2025<br>Colored pencil on paper<br>Framed: 24 3/4 x 32 1/4 inches / 60.3 x 81.9 cm Image: 22 1/2 x 30 inches / 57.1 x 76.2 cm

Andrea Bowers<br><em>I Stand For a Government, Quote from Harvey Milk, Castro Theater Marquee</em>, 2025<br>Colored pencil on paper<br>Framed: 24 3/4 x 32 1/4 inches / 60.3 x 81.9 cm Image: 22 1/2 x 30 inches / 57.1 x 76.2 cm

Andrea Bowers<br><em>You Gotta Give Them Hope, Quote from Harvey Milk, Castro Theater Marquee</em>, 2025<br>Colored pencil on paper<br>Framed: 24 3/4 x 32 1/4 inches / 60.3 x 81.9 cm Image: 22 1/2 x 30 inches / 57.1 x 76.2 cm

Andrea Bowers<br><em>Tree-Sitting Swing (Activism Is The Antidote to Despair)</em>, 2024<br>Recycled chair, reclaimed wood, static rope, carabiners, and paint<br>Overall: 100 x 30 x 23 inches / 254 x 76.2 x 58.4 cm Chair: 24 1/2 x 30 x 23 inches / 62.23 x 76.2 x 58.42 cm

Andrea Bowers<br><em>Tree-Sitting Swings (Carpe Noctem)</em>, 2024<br>Recycled chair reclaimed wood static rope, carabiners and paint<br>Overall: 100 x 32 x 26 inches / 254 x 81.28 x 66.04 cm Chair: 28 1/2 x 32 x 26 inches / 72.39 x 81.28 x 66.04 cm

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Andrea Bowers: Hope Is Never Silent

June 7-July 19, 2025

Jessica Silverman is proud to present “Hope Is Never Silent” by Andrea Bowers, a solo show about the power of words, running from June 7 to July 19, 2025. The exhibition comprises six cardboard wall works, two free-hanging tree- sitting sculptures, and a suite of color pencil drawings that quote the visionary human rights leader, Harvey Milk. Bowers started collecting inspirational texts in college; creating pictures of poetic verses and enlightening catchphrases has been a significant part of her practice ever since. Integrating language into diverse artistic media is the artist’s way of beautifying and amplifying vital ideas.

INSTALLATION VIEW

GALLERY / GRID

SELECTED WORKS

Andrea Bowers
Recycled Paint Palette Series (Bodily Autonomy Is Gender Equality), 2025
Acrylic on cardboard
20.5 x 26 x 3 inches / 50.8 x 66 x 7.62 cm

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The selection and style of Bowers’ texts are distinctive. Although her drawings sometimes bear a passing resemblance to those of Ed Ruscha, they have a different mission and impact. Ruscha’s word choice tends toward the banal, prosaic, or deadpan, whereas Bowers’ texts are emphatic and purposeful. They are not content with the status quo. Carefully culled from poets and activists, they promote change and signpost progress.

Andrea Bowers
Recycled Paint Palette Series (My Body Is Not Your Property), 2025
Acrylic on cardboard
31 1/2 x 18 1/2 x 3 inches / 80 x 47 x 7.6 cm

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Andrea Bowers
Recycled Paint Palette Series (Empowered Women), 2025
Acrylic on cardboard
18 1/4 x 32 1/2 x 3 inches / 46.4 x 82.5 x 7.6 cm

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Six small paintings on recycled cardboard will be on display. Bowers has been using found cardboard as the substrate of her paintings since 2012. The richly textured paintings, which pay homage to the cardboard placards made for street protests and honor the artist’s commitment to ecologically responsible art production, are recognizable icons of Bowers’ practice. Four of the cardboard paintings are from the artist’s “Recycled Paint Palette Series.” These works are emblazoned with flowers – symbols of new beginnings and conveyors of a wide range of emotions, including love and sympathy. Entwined in the foliage are some of the artist’s favorite slogans, such as “Body autonomy is gender equality” and thoughtful directives like “Stop, Listen, Resist.”

Andrea Bowers
We Must Change For the Land to Be Free (Passage from Deena Metzger, “Desperate Acts of Imagination”, Desperate Love Letters to a Wounded Earth, May 19th, 2025), Local Plant Studies, 2025
Acrylic on cardboard
20 x 20 x 3 inches / 50.8 x 50.8 x 7.6 cm

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Andrea Bowers
There Are Secret Passageways (Passage from Deena Metzger, “Sanctuary in a Time of Dread”, Desperate Love Letters to a Wounded Earth, February 4th, 2025), Local Plant Studies, 2025
Acrylic on cardboard
20 x 20 x 3 inches / 50.8 x 50.8 x 7.6 cm

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Two of the paintings are from Bowers’ “Local Plant Studies,” which depict species native to California that enhance the health of the state’s ecosystem by saving water, cooling the environment, or fostering biodiversity. The works also feature lines from Deena Metzger, a leading eco-feminist poet who addresses healing, the natural world, peacemaking, and planetary survival.

Andrea Bowers
Hope Will Never Be Silent, Quote from Harvey Milk, Castro Theater Marquee, 2025
Colored pencil on paper
Framed: 24 3/4 x 32 1/4 inches / 60.3 x 81.9 cm Image: 22 1/2 x 30 inches / 57.1 x 76.2 cm"

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“Hope is Never Silent,” the show’s title, is a quote from Harvey Milk. Debuting in this exhibition is a new body of work commemorating the brave words of the first openly gay elected official in America, who was assassinated in 1978. Bowers waded through photocopies of Milk’s handwritten speeches and letters seeking insights for a series of large-scale neon sculptures that will be installed at the Harvey Milk terminal of SFO, San Francisco’s primary airport, in early 2026. Bowers has augmented the splendor of Milk’s statements by arranging them on marquees inspired by the Castro Theater’s signage, a queer landmark on a main drag of the gay pride movement. Whether expressed in neon or on paper, the series vindicates the concept of “radical patience.” As Bowers explains, “In my lifetime, I might not see change, but I believe it will happen. I have hope. This body of work is an act of devotion – a dedication to Harvey Milk’s hope.”

Andrea Bowers
Wake Up America, Quote from Harvey Milk, Castro Theater Marquee, 2025
Colored pencil on paper
Framed: 24 3/4 x 32 1/4 inches / 60.3 x 81.9 cm Image: 22 1/2 x 30 inches / 57.1 x 76.2 cm"

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Andrea Bowers
I Can Be Killed With Ease, Quote from Harvey Milk, Castro Theater Marquee, 2025
Colored pencil on paper
Framed: 24 3/4 x 32 1/4 inches / 60.3 x 81.9 cm Image: 22 1/2 x 30 inches / 57.1 x 76.2 cm"

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Andrea Bowers
All Human Beings Have Power, Quote from Harvey Milk, Castro Theater Marquee, 2025
Colored pencil on paper
Framed: 24 3/4 x 32 1/4 inches / 60.3 x 81.9 cm Image: 22 1/2 x 30 inches / 57.1 x 76.2 cm"

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A conscious reaction to the cold communication styles of conceptual art, Bowers values craft and intimate feelings. In contrast to the graphic works of feminists like Barbara Kruger and Jenny Holzer, her texts are hand-drawn or meticulously rendered with pens and small paintbrushes. In the process of making her work, Bowers embodies the message and personalizes the political. “The laborious process of aestheticization, of turning the words into art, there’s a lot of love in that,” she explains. Like Judy Chicago, Bowers embraces the history of feminine mark-making, but prefers to quote the words of others and enjoys exploring a variety of lettering. In this exhibition, for example, Bowers interprets nearly a dozen fonts.

Andrea Bowers
There Will Be Another Generation to Take Our Place, Quote from Harvey Milk, Castro Theater Marquee, 2025
Colored pencil on paper
Framed: 24 3/4 x 32 1/4 inches / 60.3 x 81.9 cm Image: 22 1/2 x 30 inches / 57.1 x 76.2 cm"

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Andrea Bowers
It Takes No Compromising to Give People Their Rights, Quote from Harvey Milk, Castro Theater Marquee, 2025
Colored pencil on paper
Framed: 24 3/4 x 32 1/4 inches / 60.3 x 81.9 cm Image: 22 1/2 x 30 inches / 57.1 x 76.2 cm"

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Andrea Bowers
The Spirit of Life Is Just as Important as Its Substance, Quote from Harvey Milk, Castro Theater Marquee, 2025
Colored pencil on paper
Framed: 24 3/4 x 32 1/4 inches / 60.3 x 81.9 cm Image: 22 1/2 x 30 inches / 57.1 x 76.2 cm"

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Andrea Bowers
I Stand For a Government, Quote from Harvey Milk, Castro Theater Marquee, 2025
Colored pencil on paper
Framed: 24 3/4 x 32 1/4 inches / 60.3 x 81.9 cm Image: 22 1/2 x 30 inches / 57.1 x 76.2 cm"

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Andrea Bowers
You Gotta Give Them Hope, Quote from Harvey Milk, Castro Theater Marquee, 2025
Colored pencil on paper
Framed: 24 3/4 x 32 1/4 inches / 60.3 x 81.9 cm Image: 22 1/2 x 30 inches / 57.1 x 76.2 cm"

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Finally, the exhibition includes two suspended, interactive sculptures, or Tree-Sitting Swings. Made from vintage chairs and repurposed wood planks, the sculptures resemble the suspended platforms that have been a successful last line of defense against the destruction of old-growth forests in Northern California. Adorned with animals, incantations like “visualize vast wilderness,” and aphorisms like “activism is the antidote to despair,” the brightly colored chairs combine the childhood glee of swinging with the serious mission of saving the planet.

Andrea Bowers
Tree-Sitting Swing (Activism Is The Antidote to Despair), 2024
Recycled chair, reclaimed wood, static rope, carabiners, and paint
Overall: 100 x 30 x 23 inches / 254 x 76.2 x 58.4 cm Chair: 24 1/2 x 30 x 23 inches / 62.23 x 76.2 x 58.42 cm"

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Andrea Bowers
Tree-Sitting Swings (Carpe Noctem), 2024
Recycled chair reclaimed wood static rope, carabiners and paint
Overall: 100 x 32 x 26 inches / 254 x 81.28 x 66.04 cm Chair: 28 1/2 x 32 x 26 inches / 72.39 x 81.28 x 66.04 cm"

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“Hope is Never Silent” brings optimism to remembrance. It also melds beguiling beauty with a fearless confrontation with diverse oppressions. Through a virtuoso relationship to her artistic materials, exacting draftsmanship, vibrant color, engaging textures, and unexpected three- dimensional shapes, Bowers invites her viewers to share her ecofeminist passions and ally themselves with LGBTQ+ rights.

ARTIST BIO

Andrea Bowers (b. 1965, Wilmington, OH) has enjoyed solo exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, OH; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; MCA Chicago, IL; Vienna Secession, Austria; Fondazione Furla and Galleria d’Arte Moderna (GAM), Milan; Museum Abteiberg, Germany; Weserburg Museum für moderne Kunst, Germany; Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH; Bronx Museum, NY; and the Power Plant, Toronto. Her work has been included in recent group shows at MOCA Los Angeles; SFMOMA, CA; Hayward Gallery, London; and Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, CA; among others. Her work is in many significant museum collections, including Tate Modern, London; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Brooklyn Museum, New York; Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC; MOCA Los Angeles, CA; SFMOMA, CA; Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, CA; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; Museum Abteiberg, Germany; and the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens. Her commission for the San Francisco International Airport’s Harvey Milk Terminal will debut in 2026. She received her MFA from the California Institute of the Arts in 1992. Bowers lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. She is represented by Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York; Kaufmann Repetto, Milan; Vielmetter, Los Angeles; Capitan Petzel, Berlin; and Jessica Silverman, San Francisco.