Dean was born in Maryborough Victoria, he attended Maryborough Technical College studying Sculpture, Ceramics, Photography and Printmaking.
He attributes his early influences on his art practice to the many inspirational teachers and mentors he had whilst studying at that college.
It was these same teachers that encouraged Dean’s interest in art and the technical aspects of print making which led him to further his studies at RMIT in Melbourne.
After leaving school Dean went to Europe for a while, and on his return to Australia, he immediately went into full time employment working in commercial printing, practicing his own artwork after hours, and in the late 80’s Dean took the plunge and became a full-time artist.
Dean revisited printmaking after he realised, he had not made a lithography, his interest led to discussions about the great printmakers of France, especially when Neal Leveson became director of the Australian print workshop, speaking with Neal, Dean started thinking about going to France.
He travelled to France and had the great honour of working in the studio at same time as Pierre Alechinsky. Dean believes he was also influenced by the French print maker Jean Dubuffet, and frank Bordas the grandson of Merlot, who had worked with Dubuffet.
In 1995 he was invited to exhibit at Galerie Miyawaki Kyoto Japan. The Miyawaki family has represented Dean ever since, in all, Dean has had around 15 -20 exhibitions at the Kyoto gallery. He has also done a wood block residency on the Japanese island of Awaji working with a master printer and master carver using Japanese wood block techniques.
In the 90’s, stepping away from printmaking for a while, Dean started to make his first bronze sculptures with found objects. Dean acquired this inspiration for sculpture and painting after seeing some exhibitions of Giacometti and Botero, and artworks by outsider artists, particularly artists from France.
Dean found ideas for his next creation by collecting objects on his walks as well as from other sources for example his renovation of his studio, he reflects it might start out as an idea for a nose or a set of eyes for an assemblage sculpture.
These found objects have feed-back not only into his assemblage sculpture and bronzes but his paintings as well. The natural patinas and shapes already in the pieces, allow Dean to create all sorts of effects, for instance he uses the combustible nature of some of the found wooden objects for a direct burn out technic.
Some of his whale and fish bronze sculpture, have been created from this direct burn out technic making them a one-off piece.
Sculpture has now become a major part of his work, having made over 200 sculptures, with his works on display in many Private & Public Parks, including two bronze works “Lady with Flowers” and “Family of Echidnas”, at the 135-hectare Point Leo Estate Sculpture Park in Victoria.
Working with the diversity of the three mediums has helped Dean became a better artist. Texture being a common thread that has evolved out of working with Prints, Sculpture and Painting. This has proved to be important aesthetic technical aspect of his art practice.
Dean see’s the printmaking the painting and sculpture as all equally important, they all feed off each other he finds that ideas can start from a print, developing into a painting, and then into a bronze, or an idea can start as a sculpture and develop into a print.
His art making has evolved over the years, he has tried to educate himself through decades of art practice drawing his influence for his art from trying to understand more about himself, other people, and cultures.
He also learnt from the approach other artist use to express those aspect of life – Dean says, “that art can be anything and everything its totally open”.
Bubbling away and is developing in his art works, Dean has around 10 main themes The city, Suburbia, Urban landscape, Bird on the Roof, The Human Figure, The Face, Farmers, Men and Women working on the land.
His urban themes and the city themes of a single house in the landscape with the fragility of the comet going through the immense night sky. The Home in his paintings can represent our home where inside the lights were always on, a safe place, a place of love and family these themes became a symbol in some of Dean’s work.
The Home of Love 2017 Oil on Board 30 x 30 cm
https://www.deanbowen.com.au/paintings/the-home-of-love-2017/
He loves the way Fred Williams painted his horizon line and the Australian bush and has influenced Dean’s work. The horizon line in Dean’s work can sometimes be three quarters of the way up in the painting or quiet low in the painting.
The journey is a common theme in Dean’s work, it can be a car, a boat, or animals on the horizon making that journey, not so much a physical journey but in many ways an emotional and spiritual journey.
By chance and accidently the whimsical nature, joy and optimism in his works have just evolved from the way Dean thinks about life.
“it’s just another way of viewing life rather than expressing the grief and anger of life, my work has evolved to expresses joy, happiness, optimism, and man’s connection to his environment”.
COMMISSIONS
- 2017 City of Wodonga, Echidna Bronzes, High Street, Wodonga
Pt. Leo Estate Sculpture Park, Bronze Commissions, Merricks, VIC - 2014 Lavington Library Sculpture Commission, Albury City Council
Grimwade House, Melbourne Grammar School, bronze commission
Deakin University, Burwood Campus, bronze commission - 2013 Hamilton Art Gallery, bronze commissions
- 2012 Maroondah City Council, Glen Park, Sculpture Commission
Wyndham City, bronze commission, Wyndham Vale Community Learning Centre - 2011 arts/ACT Canberra, Gungahlin Bronze Commission.
- 2010 Colas Fondation, Paris, France
Hobson’s Bay City Council, McCormack Park, Laverton, Sculpture Commission - 2008 Canterbury Primary School, Centennial Sculpture Commission
- 2006 City of Greater Shepparton Sculpture commission, Shepparton Showgrounds
- 1999 Small Tapestries Project, Victorian Tapestry Workshop
- 1995 City of Melbourne, Melbourne Town Hall Tapestry
- 1991 Transitional Times, Print Council of Australia (Member Print)
- 1990 ICI Print Commission
- 1989 Print Council of Australia (Member Print)
NATIONAL PRIZES AND AWARDS
- 2007 The Inaugural Macarthur Cook Art Awards 2007 (3rd Prize)
- 2003 Popular Choice Award, Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award, Werribee Park, Victoria
- 1999 Conrad Jupiters Art Prize, Gold Coast City Art Gallery (Acquisitive Sculpture)
- 1998 Bathurst Art Purchase, Bathurst Regional Gallery (Acquisitive Sculpture)
- 1997 Boyne Smelters Ltd Award (Sculpture)
Nillumbik Art Award (Acquisitive Print and Sculpture) - 1996 Mornington Peninsula Art Centre (Acquisitive Print)
- 1996 Toowoomba Biennale, Toowoomba Regional gallery (Acquisitive Sculpture)
Silk Cut Award (Acquisitive Print)
Arts 21, International Export and Touring Program Grant
Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award, Grafton Regional Gallery - 1995 Murwillumbah Print Prize
- 1994 Monash University, Graduate Scholarship
Fremantle Print Award
Martin Hanson Memorial Art Award, Works on Paper, Gladstone Regional Art Gallery - 1992 Australia-France Foundation Grant
Collie Trust Award
Dyason Bequest Grant (Art Gallery of New South Wales)
City of Logan (Acquisitive Print)
City of Richmond (Acquisitive Print)
Mornington Peninsula Art Centre (Acquisitive Print) - 1991 Henri Worland Memorial Print Award (Acquisitive Print)
- 1988 Mornington Peninsula Art Centre (Acquisitive Print)
- 1978 Maryborough Arts Centre Award
INTERNATIONAL PRIZES
- 2003 Tai-he Award, 1st International Print Biennial of Beijing, P.R.China
- 2002 12th Space International Print Biennial, Seoul, Korea
- 1998 Sponsors prize, 4th Sapporo International Print Biennale, Japan
- 1997 Daikin Industries Company Prize, Osaka Print Triennale, Japan
- 1994 Mainichi Broadcasting System Prize, Osaka Print Triennale, Japan
ARTIST RESIDENCIES
- 2018 Carey Baptist Grammar School, Kew
- 2015 Geelong Grammar School, Geelong
- 2013 Grimwade House, Melbourne Grammar School, Caulfield
- 2000 Nagasawa Art Park, Workshop Program for Japanese woodblock printmaking Awaji Island, Hyogo, Japan
- 1994 Melbourne Grammar School, South Yarra
COLLECTIONS
- Art Gallery of New South Wales
- Atelier Franck Bordas, Paris, France
- Australian Print Workshop, Melbourne
- Australian War Memorial, Canberra
- A-Z Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- Baillieu Myer Collection
- Ballarat Fine Art Gallery
- Bathurst Regional Art Gallery
- Benalla Art Gallery
- Bendigo Art Gallery
- Bibliothèque municipale de Lyon, France
- Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France
- Brisbane City Hall Art Gallery, Queensland
- Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum
- …Read More