January 2025: “From Our Hearts” Legacy Artist Exhibition – Bunny and Leland Bowen

Inspired by the beauty in which we live, from the grand scale to the minute, through seasonal and temporal changes, we create “From Our Hearts.”
— Bunny and Leland Bowen

For well over fifty years, Bunny and Leland Bowen have been collaborating to create art.
It began in 1970 as they learned basic metal smithing, casting, and stone-setting in a family jewelry business. Bunny did most of the design while Leland did the engineering. Both engaged in the technical process.
Later, Bunny drew on her background as a painter and art historian to learn the ancient art of batik, while Leland used his engineering skills to supervise a casting workshop and learn welding.
For years he fabricated steel sculptures which she designed.
When Bunny began to show her batik in galleries and art shows, Leland became a skilled framer. He set up many a booth as they traveled across the country, doing as many as ten shows each year.
During the fourteen years Bunny taught fiber art at Ghost Ranch, Leland expertly assembled the studio and served as technical support.
On the gallery scene, he supported Bunny’s involvement while she was part owner of The Piñon Tree Gallery and later a member of Amapola Artist Co-op, both in Old Town Albuquerque. Galleries in Texas, Arizona, Colorado, and the East Coast also featured their work.
Locally they were in the Placitas Holiday Show and the Placitas Studio Tour for several decades, as well as Art in the Mountain and Placitas Artists Series exhibits.
Founding members of Wild Hearts Gallery in 2018, the Bowens continue to show there in a variety of media.

Coordinator: John Streicher