Title

Dean Bowen: Paintings, prints and sculpture.

Venues

Beaver Galleries [2] (3 September 2009 – 22 September 2009)

Date

(2009)

Summary

Single-artist exhibition. Located: Australia (ACT). Paintings, Prints, Sculpture.

Country of context

Australia

Abstract

Dean Bowen paints, sculpts and makes prints, however each mode of practice is interrelated.  Bowen’s aesthetic is modelled on artistic conventions popularised by French artist Jean Dubuffet with his concept of “Art Brut” or “Raw Art”.  In the words of art historian Sasha Grishin, “Bowen sets out to create a very direct, simple and child-like image, in the most sophisticated manner possible.”  Through his prints Dean transforms the geography of the landscape into the geography of the face using reductive markings to replicate the features, often with a touch of humour.  Bowen's sculptural figures and animals emanate a humanistic vulnerability and provide an intriguing interplay between two and three dimensionality.  Dean’s decades of practice as a studio printmaker suggest that it is unnecessary to look for technical imperfections in his work; look instead for the infectious play of his imagination, the poignancy of his images, and the irony and gentle humour of his many and varied visual statements. [Gallery media, 2009].