Wavism: Katie McGowan @ 14 Cavendish Square, London

Within the serene Georgian walls of 14 Cavendish Square, a new artistic movement has been born. On the ground floor, beneath ornate cornices and glimmers of afternoon light, Katie McGowan presents Wavism—a culmination of five years of experimentation, reflection, and intuitive creation. This exhibition is not merely a display of paintings; it is the manifestation of a philosophy, a rhythm, a gesture. It introduces a new way of seeing, and of feeling, through paint. 

Radience by Katie McGowan at 14 Cavendish Square. Photo credit: the author.

For McGowan, painting has always been a release. “It’s where I feel whatever’s going on in my life,” she says. Her canvases carry that emotional immediacy. Sweeping curves and thick ribbons of impasto rise and fall across their surfaces, echoing breath and movement, pulse and pause. The brushwork, simultaneously sculptural and fluid, embodies the very essence of her invented movement: Wavism. 

Born from instinct rather than instruction, Wavism is rooted in gesture, repetition, and emotional release. McGowan only began formal study recently, in Florence earlier this year, but she is glad she came to it late. “If I’d gone to art school earlier,” she reflects, “I don’t think this style would exist.” Free from academic constraint, she allowed her practice to evolve through curiosity and play. That freedom breathes through every work on display. There is no sense of adherence to tradition, no anxious nod to art-historical canon. Instead, McGowan’s paintings exude confidence and joy—the mark of an artist who trusts her own movement.

Details of Reverie, Katie McGowan, at 14 Cavendish Square. Photo credit: the author. 

In Wavism, each stroke is part of a dance. McGowan moves with the brush, stepping back and forth as layers build and merge. The outcome is never predetermined; what emerges is guided only by presence. Her lines curve and intersect, never confined by edges or rules. There is no attempt to “stay within the lines”, rather, there is a celebration of flow, of movement. In these waves of paint, one senses both spontaneity and control, the balance of intuition and intention. As McGowan puts it, “I wanted the pieces to hold that duality—something calming but also quietly dynamic.” 

That duality finds a visual echo in the setting. The soft curves of her painted forms seem to breathe against the tidy linearity of the Georgian interior. Beneath high ceilings adorned with delicate plasterwork, the paintings ripple with energy, breaking away from the orderliness of their surroundings. Yet they harmonise with the space in subtler ways—the ornate cornices, the warm glow of the walls, the gentle light filtering through tall sash windows. Dried flower arrangements, scattered thoughtfully throughout, recall a summer passed. Their muted oranges and soft pinks conjure the fading warmth of an evening garden, as the gentle pluck of a harp drifts through the rooms, completing the atmosphere of tender reverie. 

But McGowan’s ambitions extend beyond aesthetic pleasure. “I paint women how I want them to be seen,” she says. “Wavism is centred around women’s experiences.” Her paintings, though abstract, are deeply rooted in empathy. They carry an emotional cadence that feels distinctly feminine—not in subject, but in spirit. In the undulating lines, one might glimpse gestures of care, resilience, and strength.

Verge, Katie McGowan, at 14 Cavendish Square. Photo credit: the author.

Perhaps most compelling is McGowan’s vision for Wavism as a community. She teaches a course dedicated to it, welcoming not only artists but anyone seeking connection through creativity. “Wavism is a form of painting” she explains. “But it’s also a community to learn in. To be inspired. To inspire others. To grow. To change. And to reach that next level—whatever that means to you.” In a contemporary art world often dominated by exclusivity, McGowan’s approach feels refreshingly open. She makes art for those who wish to live with it, to feel something from it, not merely to possess it. 

Wavism invites us to slow down, to breathe, and to allow emotion to guide our gaze. McGowan’s debut of this new movement is not an act of defiance against the past, but an offering for the present—a reminder that art, at its purest, need not demand explanation. It can move as freely as a wave: flowing, evolving, and endlessly returning. 

The Dance, at 14 Cavendish Square. Photo credit: the author.

Katie McGowan: Wavism was on display at 14 Cavendish Square, London, from the 26th-27th September 2025. For more details about Wavism and her artworks go to https://www.katiemcgowanart.co.uk/  

Emilia Luders

Reviews Co-Editor, MADE IN BED