Two Fort Worth Artists Join Forces for a New Western-Meets-Modern Exhibition at Bowie House

Fort Worth’s Bowie House is known for its unique art collection, which blends classic Western heritage with a modern style through paintings, sculptures, metal works, and even packing tape.

The newest exhibition, West of Real, hones in on this modern and western unity with works by two born-and-raised Fort Worth artists: Abigail Faye Jackson and Jacob Lovett. Opening on April 27, West of Real anchors traditional western style while playfully incorporating elements of surrealism and realms of fantasy.

Abigail Faye Jackson Focuses on Charrería

Jackson’s pieces in the Bowie House exhibition center around charrería, the national sport of Mexico that blends equestrian skills with Mexican culture.

“My hope is that viewers will discover the parallels between these equestrian traditions and come away with a sense of unity, recognizing that Texas and Mexico have always been, and always will be, profoundly connected,” she tells PaperCity. In these works, she focuses on various charrería participants, from a charro (a traditional Mexican horseman) to an escaramuza rider. (Escaramuza is an all-female equestrian sport where riders perform synchronized routines on horseback.)

In each piece, Jackson sets the participants against a backdrop of 23-karat gold leaf, which is where a new realm is created. “The gold isn’t decorative, it’s immersive,” she says. “It creates a luminous atmosphere where the subjects seem suspended in time, caught between past and future.” As you walk past each piece, the reflective gold surface reveals glimpses of your own image, inviting you into the narrative.

Jacob Lovett and Cowboys on Horseback

In the Bowie House exhibition, Lovett’s works focus on the American West through paintings of cowboys on horseback. However, these cowboys are often riding off the landscape, into a blank, white canvas full of the unknown.

“I often construct my compositions to resemble looking through a window — both literally and metaphorically,” Lovett says. “These aren’t just compositional frames. They serve as portals into intimate, contemplative moments.”

Lovett further notes that these windows become a threshold. “They’re an invitation to pause, to consider, and reflect,” he says. “In this way, my work enters a kind of quiet, internal realm that isn’t bound by linear time or narrative. It becomes a space where memory, longing, and stillness blur together — a place that feels both real and imagined. And for me, that’s where the fantasy lives. Not in the fantastical sense, but in the emotional dreamspace — a heightened reality shaped by reflection and reverence.”

Lovett’s characters in his paintings rarely face the viewer, often turned inward or looking beyond, which further invites the viewer to do the same by stepping through the window into a timeless place. Lovett says these windows act as a metaphor for perspective and introspection, prompting viewers to ask, “Are we witnessing someone else’s memory?” “Are we looking into their past, or projecting our own experiences?” And “Is the window a literal view — or a portal into a moment that’s already passed, imagined, or never existed at all?”

At the exhibition opening, guests are invited to meet the artists in person and learn about the inspirations and creative processes. Tickets to opening night at Bowie House are free and available here.