Mallory Stowe - March 1

Mallory Stowe (b. in Cleveland, OH) is a painter interested in anxiety and awe surrounding the natural world. Her work reflects how systems of memory, whether in the body or in the environment, can perpetuate suffering or nurture empathy. The resulting paintings excavate humor, pleasure, fear, and connection in a storytelling manner. Stowe received her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2025 and her BFA from Ohio University in 2022. Stowe was a finalist for the 2023 AXA Art Prize at the New York Academy of Art and has received a juror award at the Women of Appalachia show at Dairy Barns Art Center. Stowe teaches art courses at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Wheelhouse Studios.

Observer Occurrences are paintings about the act of looking. As someone who experiences both trepidation and awe about the environment, I paint to examine this tension. Some paintings emerge from walks, and others emerge as imagined landscapes during the drawing process. I am interested in the act of observation, how it can feel futile and humorous, or deeply important. These natural occurrences I illustrate are strange, and reveal an invitation into the unknown.