Energy 

Curator: Let’s turn our attention now to a canvas crafted with acrylic paint. The piece is entitled "Energy," attributed to David Michael Bowers. It feels to me like the culmination of abstract expressionism meeting the tradition of landscape painting. What’s your initial impression? Editor: Well, the first thing that hits me is a feeling of intense… yearning. The high-keyed center pulls my gaze like gravity. Is it a setting sun? Or perhaps something even more primordial, like creation itself trying to force its way into being? There's a kind of visual heat radiating off of it. Curator: Indeed! It resonates with powerful, archetypal symbolism. The fiery orb you describe could be interpreted as a potent symbol of consciousness or divine manifestation, set against cooler hues suggesting a world waiting to be ignited. It's all quite visceral. Editor: Yes! And the land, or whatever’s under it—or maybe even our own souls-- it's fractured. See how those drips flow vertically in places? It’s as if there’s this constant shedding, a letting go happening below all that furious brightness. There’s incredible vulnerability embedded in those earth tones. Curator: Fascinating point! It underscores how symbols, even in abstract form, tap into collective emotional memories. That fractured landscape, you see, echoes mankind’s historical grappling with transformative energies – internal and external. That central fire is transformative, but potentially destructive. Editor: I wonder if Bowers intended such deliberate symbolic layering, or whether he was just feeling it out as he painted? Sometimes it’s the accidental alchemy that packs the biggest punch, don’t you think? Maybe it’s enough for art to simply awaken something long buried. Curator: It is a tantalizing mystery. Regardless of authorial intent, “Energy” undeniably compels introspection. We’re confronted with not only light but the deep shadows cast by transformative change. The visual heat generates inner heat. Editor: Exactly! Which is perhaps, in itself, the point of it all. Now, that bit of turquoise down on the right, though... Where did that come from, and why is it pulling me in? We could spend hours here!