Adam Fowler

Transparency of Volume

September 10–November 7, 2020

Exhibition catalog

C, 2018

C, 2018; 22×15 inches, 26-1/4×19-1/4 inches framed

D, 2018

D, 2018; 22×15 inches, 26-1/4×19-1/4 inches framed

F, 2018

F, 2018; 22×15 inches, 26-1/4×19-1/4 inches framed

A, 2018–19

A, 2018–19; 22×15 inches, 26-1/4×19-1/4 inches framed

H, 2019

H, 2019; 22×15 inches, 26-1/4×19-1/4 inches framed

B, 2018

B, 2018; 22×15 inches, 26-1/4×19-1/4 inches framed

G, 2019

G, 2019; 22×15 inches, 26-1/4×19-1/4 inches framed

E, 2018

E, 2018; 22×15 inches, 26-1/4×19-1/4 inches framed

Press Release

Brian Gross Fine Art is pleased to present Transparency of Volume, an exhibition of new drawn and cut paper reliefs by New York artist Adam Fowler, opening September 10, 2020. In these eight new works, Fowler has expanded on his previous polychrome works through the addition of layers of contrasting colors executed on a larger scale. The exhibition will be on view through November 7, 2020.

Full of exacting precision and gestural improvisation, Fowler’s drawings are produced through a meticulous and meditative process. Starting with white sheets of paper, Fowler applies color to each using oil based inks and a printing press. After drawing a network of graphite gestures on each sheet, he then cuts away the paper between the lines and combines them to create multi-layered, dimensional reliefs in which all of the negative spaces have been excised.

In Transparency of Volume, Fowler has greatly varied the densities of his compositions by modulating the size and tonalities of his lines; each work is comprised of six to ten cut paper layers. In an additional refinement of his previous body of work, Fowler has inserted layers of contrasting color to create different optical effects in each work. Together, Fowler’s fusion of densities and textures with contrasting layers of color adds greater depth and complexity to his already intricate works.

Adam Fowler was born in Fairfax, VA and received his BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, in 2001. Fowler’s work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States, including Deep Cuts: Contemporary Paper Cutting in 2017 at the Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, NH; Remix: Selections from the International Collage Center in 2013 at the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, MO; Slash, Paper Under the Knife, an exhibition celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Museum of Arts and Design, NYC, in 2009; and in LineAge at The Drawing Center, NYC in 2005.

Fowler has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants including the New York Foundation for the Arts, Fellowship in Drawing in 2011; The Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, New York, NY in 2007; and the Young Artist Program Grant, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Washington, DC in 2004. His work can be found in numerous private and corporate collections throughout the U.S. This is Adam Fowler’s third exhibition with Brian Gross Fine Art.