Recent Paintings
Painted on site in and around Machiasport, ME, these works respond to the coast area through both its vast, weathered surfaces and its intimate details—lichen, grasses, and flowers. By mixing sand from each site into the paint, the textures of place are carried directly into the structure of the pieces. The paintings bring together the ruggedness of the landscape with the strange quality of being present within it, reflecting not only the beauty of the natural world but also the mysterious qualities of our lives and relationships.
Biography
Mike Dowley is a painter and professor based in Northern Virginia whose work explores atmosphere, memory, and the strangeness found in everyday spaces. His paintings and drawings have been exhibited at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., Blue Spiral in Asheville, Atlantic Gallery in New York, the Arlington Arts Center, Doris Mae Gallery, and in projects such as Art at Kings Oaks in Pennsylvania, among other regional and national venues. Dowley has been awarded residencies at the Vermont Studio Center and on Great Spruce Head Island in Maine, experiences that continue to shape the development of his work and his engagement with landscape. Moving fluidly between painting and drawing, often in pastel and mixed media, he creates layered, evocative images that blur the line between observation and imagination. Alongside his studio practice, he teaches painting, drawing, and design at Northern Virginia Community College and Georgetown University, bringing the same sense of curiosity and commitment that guides his art into the classroom.
Solo and Group Exhibitions:
2023
On the Threshold, Drawing from Inside Out, NOVA Manassas Campus Gallery
Northeastern, Exeter Gallery, Baltimore, MD
2021
Inside Outside Upside Down, The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.
Drawings In a Time of Renewal, LIC-A, Long Island City Arts Advocacy, virtual exhibition
Proud+, The Studio Door,San Diego, CA
Person, Place, Thing, Project V Gallery, New York, NY (virtual)
It Was all Very Queer, St. Louis Artists' Guild, St. Louis, MO
2020
Faculty Exhibition, Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale, VA
2019
Art at Kings Oaks, Newtown Pa
Flat Rate Contemporary 3, Summer 2019, curated virtual exhibition
2018
Lay it on, Blue Spiral, Asheville, NC
2017
Open Studio, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
2016
Light Wishes Only to Be Land, Arlington Arts Center, Arlington, VA
Connection: Artists Selecting Artists, Atlantic Gallery, New York, NY
Paint & Sip, Van Gogh’s Starry Night, 30+ DC artists, District of Columbia Arts Center, Washington,
DCZungenbrecher!!, seven regional artists, NVCC, Manassas Campus, Manassas, VA
2015
Faculty Exhibition, Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale, VA
2014
Faculty Exhibition, Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale, VA
2013
Piedmont Series, (Solo Exhibition- Dec 2012), Doris Mae, Washington, DC
2012
19 Ways of Looking at a Painting, Porch Projects, Washington, DC
Faculty Exhibition, Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale, VA
2011
DC Emerging, Visarts, Rockville, MD
Paint Mix, District of Columbia Art Center, Washington, DC
Bread for the City Auction, Morton Fine Art, Washington, DC
2010
Intuitive Paint, w/ William Whitakker, Visarts Center, Rockville, MD
National Small Works, Washington Printmakers Gallery, Washington, DC
2009
New Directions ‘09, Barrett Art Center, Poughkeepsie, NYJuror: Joan Young, Curator Contemporary Art, Guggenheim Museum
Statts Benefit Auction,Savannah Station, Savannah, GA
One For the Row, Desotorow Gallery, Savannah, GA
White Columns Curated Artist Registry, White Columns Gallery, New York, NY
2008
Lean To: MFA Thesis Exhibition, SCAD, B. Matthew’s Gallery, Savannah, GA
Summer MFA Painting Preview Group Show, Desotorow Gallery, Savannah, GA
Painting as Presence, National Juried Exhibition, Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, CT Juror: William Bailey, Yale University
2007
Bridge Show, Alexander Annex Gallery, Savannah College of Art & Design, Savannah, GA
MFA Spring Open Studios, Savannah College of Art & Design, Savannah, GA
2006
MFA Fall Open Studios, Savannah College of Art & Design, Savannah, GA
2004
Summer/Winter: Solo Exhibition, Temporary Space, Gesundheit Center, New York, NY
2003
Summer Landscape Group Show, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.Senior Thesis Exhibition, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
Selected Bibliography/Published Work
Michigan Quarterly Review MQR Mixtape; Gender/Genre Issue: September 2021
Kriston Capps, Light Wishes Only to be Land (Review), Washington City paper, Aug. 2016
Topher Forhecz, Breaking through, The Gazette, July 13, 2011
Jessica Palumbo, VisArts Showcases Five Local Emerging Artists, WAMU, July 24, 2011
John Anderson, “DC Emerging,” Washington City Paper, July 19, 2011
Awards/Residencies
Art Week, Stipend, Porter Home, Great Spruce Head Island, ME, 2022
President's Award/Stipend, Teaching Excellence, Northern Virginia Community College, 2021
President's Award/Stipend, Teaching Excellence, Northern Virginia Community College, 2020
Summer Residency & Award Grant Recipient, Vermont Studio Center, 2017
Artist in Residence, Georgetown University, Washington DC, 2009-2010
Michael P. Archer Memorial Award, Portfolio Scholarship, Savannah College of Art & Design, 2008
Academic Fellowship Recipient, Savannah College of Art & Design, 2006-2009
Misty Dailey Travel Award, Georgetown University, 2002
Teaching Experience
Professor of Painting & Drawing, Northern Virginia Community College
2023- present
Associate Professor of Painting, Drawing & Design, Northern Virginia Community College, 2017-present
Adjunct Instructor, Painting, Drawing & Design, Georgetown University, 2010-present
Adjunct Instructor, Painting, Drawing & Design, Northern Virginia Community College, 2009-2016
Teaching Assistant, Drawing & Color Theory, Savannah College of Art & Design, 2007-2008
Education
BA Studio Art & Spanish, Georgetown University
MFA Savannah College of Art & Design