Paul Cowan
Paul Cowan makes painting-like objects that allude to and upend painterly conventions. Drawn from the worlds of commercial signage and fine art, his hybrid objects often feature enamel, rather than paint, applied to canvas. For one body of work, Cowan hired professional sign-makers to make simple gestures—squiggles, borders, and scalloped lines—in primary colors on his works' surfaces. Such marks, both utilitarian and painterly, question the boundary between functional and artistic painting. Other works involve monochromatic or patterned fabric in which the artist has attached a small fish hook. The glistening silver bauble attracts the viewer’s eye, serving as a literal and metaphorical hook—a prompt to consider the ways paintings ask for and command our attention.
Paul Cowan通过绘画种的物像去映射颠覆性的举动。关注的问题从商业化的标牌与艺术中的间隔中寻取，艺术家常常使用珐琅彩附着被画物，而不是简单的涂料。通过专业的手法将乱码、扇形的线、边线以特殊的颜色附着于画布表面，很像某种记号。
通过绘画中的潜在功能对现下绘画的功利性的质疑提出。Cowan其他的作品多为单色画，其中艺术家将一个小的鱼钩附着在画布上面。银色的闪光吸引着观者的眼球，好似一个隐喻性的鱼钩象征着某种文字，提示着我们对于绘画阐述走向的思考以及在关注中如何去寻找那些引诱性的指令。