Jessica Silverman is proud to present Hope is never silent by Andrea Bowers, a solo show about the power of words, running from June 7 to July 19, 2025. The exhibition comprises six cardboard wall works, two free-hanging tree- sitting sculptures, and a suite of color pencil drawings that quote the visionary human rights leader, Harvey Milk. Bowers started collecting inspirational texts in college; creating pictures of poetic verses and enlightening catchphrases has been a significant part of her practice ever since. Integrating language into diverse artistic media is the artist’s way of beautifying and amplifying vital ideas.

The selection and style of Bowers’ texts are distinctive. Although her drawings sometimes bear a passing resemblance to those of Ed Ruscha, they have a different mission and impact. Ruscha’s word choice tends toward the banal, prosaic, or deadpan, whereas Bowers’ texts are emphatic and purposeful. They are not content with the status quo. Carefully culled from poets and activists, they promote change and signpost progress.

Six small paintings on recycled cardboard will be on display. Bowers has been using found cardboard as the substrate of her paintings since 2012. The richly textured paintings, which pay homage to the cardboard placards made for street protests and honor the artist’s commitment to ecologically responsible art production, are recognizable icons of Bowers’ practice. Four of the cardboard paintings are from the artist’s Recycled paint palette series. These works are emblazoned with flowers – symbols of new beginnings and conveyors of a wide range of emotions, including love and sympathy. Entwined in the foliage are some of the artist’s favorite slogans, such as “Body autonomy is gender equality” and thoughtful directives like “Stop, Listen, Resist.”

Two of the paintings are from Bowers’ Local plant studies, which depict species native to California that enhance the health of the state’s ecosystem by saving water, cooling the environment, or fostering biodiversity. The works also feature lines from Deena Metzger, a leading eco-feminist poet who addresses healing, the natural world, peacemaking, and planetary survival.

Hope is never silent, the show’s title, is a quote from Harvey Milk. Debuting in this exhibition is a new body of work commemorating the brave words of the first openly gay elected official in America, who was assassinated in 1978. Bowers waded through photocopies of Milk’s handwritten speeches and letters seeking insights for a series of large-scale neon sculptures that will be installed at the Harvey Milk terminal of SFO, San Francisco’s primary airport, in early 2026. Bowers has augmented the splendor of Milk’s statements by arranging them on marquees inspired by the Castro Theater’s signage, a queer landmark on a main drag of the gay pride movement. Whether expressed in neon or on paper, the series vindicates the concept of “radical patience.” As Bowers explains, “In my lifetime, I might not see change, but I believe it will happen. I have hope. This body of work is an act of devotion – a dedication to Harvey Milk’s hope.”

A conscious reaction to the cold communication styles of conceptual art, Bowers values craft and intimate feelings. In contrast to the graphic works of feminists like Barbara Kruger and Jenny Holzer, her texts are hand-drawn or meticulously rendered with pens and small paintbrushes. In the process of making her work, Bowers embodies the message and personalizes the political. “The laborious process of aestheticization, of turning the words into art, there’s a lot of love in that,” she explains. Like Judy Chicago, Bowers embraces the history of feminine mark-making, but prefers to quote the words of others and enjoys exploring a variety of lettering. In this exhibition, for example, Bowers interprets nearly a dozen fonts.

Finally, the exhibition includes two suspended, interactive sculptures, or Tree-Sitting Swings. Made from vintage chairs and repurposed wood planks, the sculptures resemble the suspended platforms that have been a successful last line of defense against the destruction of old-growth forests in Northern California. Adorned with animals, incantations like “visualize vast wilderness,” and aphorisms like “activism is the antidote to despair,” the brightly colored chairs combine the childhood glee of swinging with the serious mission of saving the planet.

Hope is never silent brings optimism to remembrance. It also melds beguiling beauty with a fearless confrontation with diverse oppressions. Through a virtuoso relationship to her artistic materials, exacting draftsmanship, vibrant color, engaging textures, and unexpected three- dimensional shapes, Bowers invites her viewers to share her ecofeminist passions and ally themselves with LGBTQ+ rights.