Over the next few months we are offering a glimpse into the creative process of the Art Department’s graduating master of fine arts candidates, who are presenting their final thesis exhibitions throughout the spring semester. These exhibitions represent the culmination of years of dedicated study and artistic exploration, showcasing our students’ diverse talents and innovative approaches to art-making.
Mallory Stowe is a contemporary figurative painter interested in “anxiety and awe surrounding the natural world.” Her work focuses on human and ecological interconnection.
Stowe writes that her cinematic paintings “capture awe or overwhelm. The works reflect how systems of memory — whether in the body, the environment, or society — can perpetuate suffering or nurture empathy.”
Stowe’s final thesis exhibition, “Both the Spine and the Underbelly,” will be on view at UW–Madison’s Art Lofts Gallery from April 7–13. A reception, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Thursday, April 10, from 5 to 8 p.m.
We asked Stowe to share insights into her exhibition. Below is an edited Q&A:
How did you come up with the title of your exhibition? The title, “Both the Spine and the Underbelly,” reflects the tension between strength and vulnerability, care and disregard. It speaks to the complexities of survival and the ways we engage with the natural world.
What inspired you to create this work? I imagine a fictional Midwest where I can explore both scientific and emotional anxieties. My paintings use characters to embody the ecological and social realities of the landscape, while fiction allows for alternative perspectives and new ways of thinking.
For this series, I was drawn to traditional Dutch still lifes, which often balance scarcity and grandeur. My paintings depict the hunting and eating of a fictional “Beast,” using it as a metaphor to explore how society treats what it consumes — both physically and emotionally.
How did you create it? To build my reference, I gathered produce from the farmers market, thrifted vintage cutlery and glassware, and cast fish bones in cherry Jell-O to create an eerie still-life scene. I photographed the display and then translated it into large-scale oil paintings, allowing the textures and objects to guide the storytelling.
What do you hope viewers take away from the exhibition? I hope viewers locate their own feelings of awe or apathy in the work and consider new ways forward in how they relate to their environment and each other. This program has shaped me into a more technically skilled painter and has helped me contextualize my work within broader artistic and academic conversations. More than that, I’ve found a strong community of artists, and I’ve learned to trust my own instincts in my creative process.