Colorful Characters

Colorful Characters
On view: August 29–September 28, 2025
Artist reception: Saturday, September 13, 5:00-8:00 pm

The Gallery at 40 Main welcomes three artists – Jeff Hughart, Ro McGowan and Brian Mullins – who collectively mirror Bisbee, Arizona’s colorful character, its power, intellect, charm, quirks and outsiders.

Colorful Characters features a diverse body of figurative abstractions from the hands and mind of Jeff Hughart. Exposed to a variety of disciplines since childhood, the self-taught Hughart ventured from sketchbooks to photography, filmmaking and punk rock, infusing his art with life experiences before taking up the brush again in 2002. Although color-blind, Hughart’s faces and figures explode with saturation and texture, creating heightened states of emotion and tension that track along his fascination with Art Brut.

Joining him for the first time in a formal artistic setting is Ro (Rochelle) McGowan. Teaching herself shading as a child, McGowan developed a love for vibrant colors and managed to secure a scholarship to the Des Moines Art Center, only to bounce out of the art world. Moving to Los Angeles for professional reasons and later to Phoenix for personal reasons, she eventually made her way to Bisbee and back to painting.

Her abstract expressions testify to a lifelong passion for color.

Paired with Hughart and McGowan’s paintings is a special display of global instruments from the collection of local musician Brian Mullins, straight out of Bisbee’s audio scene. Mullins will be giving a full demonstration of his instruments at our Second Saturday reception on September 13.