Political Ribbons
(Fondazione Furla/GAM Milan), 2022

Silkscreen ink on satin ribbons
© Andrea Bowers; courtesy the artist.

Andrea Bowers makes work through a feminist lens, examining contemporary political issues such as immigration, climate change, labor, and women’s rights within the larger context of American history and feminist activism. She holds an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts, where she witnessed the diminishing of the school’s Feminist Art Program. It was around this time that she became politically active and motivated to create a historical record of artistic and political movements through her own art practice. Bowers makes use of a variety of media—from drawing to video to neon installations—rendering complex topics through an accessible and direct vocabulary. Her participatory work Political Ribbons (Fondazione Furla/GAM Milan) is an example of the aesthetic power of language. The piece consists of hundreds of ribbons printed with various phrases such as “Sexism Sucks” and “It is Not Enough to be Compassionate.” Visitors to the exhibition are invited to take one ribbon with them to keep and display as they wish.