A combination of disorder, opulence and sharp color contrast best describes Plenty, a new series of paintings by one of Penn State's associate professors of art. The series will be on display through May 22 at the Winston Wächter Mayer Fine Art gallery in New York.

The paintings, by artist John Bowman, represent the residue of excess left after a meal or gala, when people have left but the table has yet to be cleared, Bowman said.

"The paintings, I guess, are about fullness -- about getting our desires fulfilled," he said. "They represent the culmination in our lives."

The remains, which include colorful displays of floral arrangements strewn across the table, empty wine glasses, overturned bottles and unfolded napkins, exaggerate the ambivalent acts of desire, consumption and satisfaction that form the heart of society that makes the meal, Bowman said.

"They represent that moment in which you have reached a culmination in life, but at the same time, that moment is over," Bowman said. "It's like a duality of attraction and repulsion -- at first, you're attracted to the amount of stuff on the table, but then you're repelled."

From Plato's "Symposium" to Leonardo Da Vinci's "The Last Supper," Bowman's newest paintings are not original in topic, but are original in their display.

"The painting is like a social landscape after battle," Bowman said. "It is in itself a type of ruin -- a still life that has transformed into a landscape."

The paintings, which have been displayed at the gallery for two weeks, have been well received, art director Amanda Snyder said.

"There has been a wonderful response from audiences," she said. "The show has not been sold out yet, but many works have sold."

Snyder, as a spectator, said she is intrigued by Bowman's work.

"His works represent an opulence in which everything is overdone in the scene," she said. "There is an attraction toward the bright color and overwhelming layout."

Penn State student Jeanne Sica (sophomore-art and architecture) said she is fascinated with the work as well.

"Bowman's work is just extraordinary," she said. "His use of color contrast and the way everything is just strewn across the table in Plenty is so alluring."

Bowman has been showing his work in New York for 24 years. His collections have been displayed at many museums all over the nation, including the Denver Art Museum, National Museum of American Art and the Smithsonian Institution, among many others.

Winston Wächter Mayer Fine Art is located at 39 E. 78th St. in New York and is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

For further information, call 212-327-2526 or visit www.winstonwachtermayer.com.