In the catalogs, in the literature the superlatives seem to be reserved to describe artists and their works from the Renaissance through the eighteenth century. The superlatives of today seem to apply only to the sales prices of those works. The attainment of uncompromised excellence in any endeavor is somewhat alien to our time. One develops a talent, a technique only so far as is required to get through the door to the next stage of a career. Yet a few, seemingly shades from another time, obsessively unrelentingly strive for absolute perfection of their craft. The masterful technique, the exquisite rendering so immediately apparent in his drawings reveals Chuck Bowden to be such a one. The unsurpassed mastery of rendering with pen or with pencil is immediately and stirringly apparent when viewing his drawings. Invariably monochromes set in complementary surrounds designed in color, his drawings have a gem-like quality that is increasingly apparent with each successive viewing.
Brian Muessig
Writer & Historian