Justin Bower (American, b. 1975)
Fidelity (2017)
Oil on canvas
84 x 72 in (213 x 183 cm)
Provenance: Private collection, directly from the artist (2019)
PRICE: on request
Executed at a pivotal moment in Justin Bower’s mature practice, Fidelity (2017) exemplifies the artist’s exploration of identity in the age of technological mediation. Monumental in scale, the painting confronts the viewer with a fragmented human visage that appears simultaneously constructed and destabilized — as though emerging from corrupted digital data or interrupted transmission.
Bower merges classical oil painting techniques with visual language borrowed from compression errors, neural imaging, and digital glitches. Layers fracture, duplicate, and dissolve across the surface, creating a psychological portrait that oscillates between humanity and machine perception. The subject feels both intensely present and algorithmically disassembled, reflecting contemporary anxieties surrounding surveillance, artificial intelligence, and the erosion of stable identity.
At over seven feet tall, Fidelity possesses undeniable architectural presence, functioning as both portrait and environment. The work rewards sustained viewing, revealing intricate painterly passages beneath its technological distortions — a hallmark of Bower’s ability to reconcile traditional craftsmanship with post-digital consciousness.
About the Artist
Justin Bower (b. 1975, USA) is widely recognized as one of the leading painters examining the intersection of figuration, neuroscience, and digital culture. His work investigates how emerging technologies reshape perception, memory, and the construction of selfhood in contemporary society.
Bower’s paintings draw upon sources ranging from facial-recognition software and neurological imaging to internet compression artifacts, translating these influences into richly layered oil compositions. Rather than abandoning painting in the digital era, Bower reasserts its relevance — using the physicality of paint to interrogate increasingly virtual human experience.
His work has been exhibited internationally and championed by influential contemporary programs including UNIX Gallery, New York, helping position him among a generation of artists redefining figurative painting for the 21st century.
