paul fowler

Artist Statement

Paul Fowler is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores the intersection of structure, memory, and material expression. Trained in both fine arts and architecture, Fowler has maintained a lifelong engagement with making, moving fluidly between painting, photography, and digital media.
He studied Fine Arts at the Rhode Island School of Design and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Photographic Illustration from the Rochester Institute of Technology before completing a Master of Architecture at the University of Florida. Following his graduate studies, Fowler spent decades practicing architecture while teaching architectural design at colleges throughout New England. He currently serves as a full-time Associate Professor of Architecture at Keene State College, a role that has allowed him to re-engage deeply with his artistic practice.
Fowler’s current work centers primarily on painting in acrylic and watercolor. His paintings are built through layered applications of color, transparency, and texture, often incorporating scraping, abrasion, and reworking to reveal underlying histories within the surface. Drawing inspiration from both natural forms and constructed environments, these works balance structure and spontaneity—where geometric frameworks interact with more fluid, expressive marks. The resulting compositions explore themes of accumulation, erosion, and emotional resonance, allowing meaning to emerge through process as much as intention.
Alongside his painting practice, Fowler continues to work in photography and digital media. His photographic work often focuses on observational moments that reveal underlying patterns of time, presence, and absence. His digital works extend his interest in layering and spatial tension, frequently combining fragmented imagery to connect contemporary events with historical narratives. Through these compositions, he investigates how past and present intersect, suggesting that without reflection, patterns of human behavior are at risk of repetition.
Fowler’s work has been exhibited throughout New England and beyond, including at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, AVA Gallery and Art Center, Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery, ArtsWorcester, Fort Point Arts Community, and The Art Center Dover. His work is also held in the permanent collection of the Asian American Arts Centre in New York.
Across all media, Fowler’s practice is unified by a sustained interest in layering—of material, of time, and of experience—creating work that invites viewers to consider what lies beneath the surface and how meaning is shaped through both presence and absence.