DEAN BOWEN painter sculptor and printmaker - (b. Maryborough Victoria 1957) Artist’s Statement Dean Bowen is an Australian artist working across a number of mediums including painting, sculpture and printmaking. He has held over sixty solo exhibitions in Australia, France, Switzerland, Japan and the United Kingdom. His work is represented in over seventy national and international collections including, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne; Parliament House Art Collection, Canberra; Fukuoka Museum of Art, Japan, Artbank; Art Gallery of NSW, Geelong Gallery and City of Melbourne. In 2003 Bowen won the popular choice award in the prestigious Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award, Werribee Park, Victoria, and in 2008 he was again shortlisted as a finalist. He has been a finalist in The Sulman and Wynne Prizes at the Art Gallery of NSW. Bowen has received a number of major public sculpture commissions including City of Greater Shepparton, Hobsons Bay City Council and ArtsACT, Canberra. He has also been the recipient of several international printmaking awards at Sapporo International Print Biennale, Japan, 1998, Osaka Print Triennale, Japan, 1994 and 1997, and the Print Biennial of Beijing 2003. He won the Fremantle Print Award, Fremantle, WA, in 1994. In 1999 he completed his Ph. D in Printmaking at Monash University. Dean Bowen is renowned for his artwork depicting vibrant urban and country scenes. His vision and diverse range of mediums, whether it be painting, sculpture or printmaking, come together to produce images that are joyous, lively and full of humour. Providing a contrast to the typical image of the Australian landscape, Bowen's scenes of urban and rural life are often populated by whimsical and cheerful characters, living harmoniously within their constructed environments.

 (c) 2009 Eastgate|&|Holst