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Paul Cowan (b.1985) is an American artist currently living and working in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is best known for his paintings, which interact with traditions in Modern art—particularly abstraction, formalism, and conceptual art. Important themes for his work include the question of authorship, the conceptual basis of composition and mark making techniques, and considering the problematic social function of art. His work also includes topics important to Postmodern thought. For example: he shows a greater concern for the reception rather than the production of his work, as well as exploring the concepts of simulacra and imitation as being the theoretical basis upon which painting can be understood as a ubiquitous form of art. In addition, Paul Cowan's work develops a dialectical relationship between being an observer and a contributor to the tradition of painting, as well as deflating its prized ideals.

Education and Practice
Cowan was born in 1985 in Kansas City. In 2007, he received his BFA a Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. He then relocated to Chicago, and in 2012 graduated from University of Illinois at Chicago with an MFA in studio art. In 2012 his work was shown in the MCA Chicago. . While in Chicago he began exhibiting his work internationally. He is currently represented by Shane Campbell Gallery (Chicago), Clifton Benevento (NYC), and Jonathan Viner Gallery (London).