Adrian Owen
Artist Biography
Adrian Owen is a self-taught artist who specialises in fine art, portraiture and illustration, saying he has “always preferred the tactility of traditional mediums and a hands-on approach to creating fine arts.” While working in traditional mediums such as watercolour, acrylic and oil, his preferred medium is charcoal which suits his highly considered and emotive work and highlights his meticulous attention to
detail. “I enjoy the malleable textures of charcoal’s palette and find it can be almost fluid.”
It was in London during the 1990’s as a young man that he began to develop his distinctive style of portraiture, sketching portraits on Leicester and Trafalgar Squares and during this time that he made an annual appearance on The Royal Mile at The Edinburgh International Arts Festival. On returning to South Africa he participated annually at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival. A trip to Chiang Mai in 2007 introduced him to the dry brush technique which he adopted to expand his mastery in the disciplined art of charcoal drawing.
Adrian freelances commercially as an illustrator in the publishing, advertising, film and television industries. Private portrait commissions and works focusing on his unique interpretations of the human form have remained a staple during his career and can be found in private collections throughout the world.
His work has been exhibited in notable galleries throughout South Africa. He has been a participating artist in the Spier Arts Trust and Nando’s Creative Block since 2017. In 2021 he was selected as one of the four SAT and Nando’s Creative Exchange (NCX) artists which aims to recognise emerging South African fine artists who demonstrate exceptional ability. “My participation in the Creative Block has been pivotal to my progress as an artist.”
Adrian currently lives and works in Kommetjie near Cape Town
Group Shows
2023
• ‘Open Studio’s Kommetjie 2023’, solo studio exhibition, Kommetjie, Cape Town.
• ‘Summer Exhibition’, group exhibition, Ink Box Art, Kalk Bay, Cape Town.
• ‘Clusterplak? How Bazaar!’, group exhibition, DAOR Contemporary, Cape Town.
• Creative Block, group exhibition, GFI Gallery, Gqeberha.
• ‘New&Now’, group exhibition, Ink Box Art, Kalk Bay, Cape Town.
• Solo Studios, group exhibition, Spier Arts Trust Creative Block, Riebeek Kasteel.
• Spier Arts Trust Creative Block, group exhibition, Turbine Art Fair, Johannesburg.
• ‘Serendipitous’, group exhibition, DAOR Contemporary, Cape Town.
• ‘Zoom In’, group exhibition, The Studio Art Gallery, Simons Town.
• K4, group exhibition, Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK), Oudtshoorn
2022
• ‘Open Studio’s Kommetjie 2022’, solo studio exhibition, Kommetjie, Cape Town.
• ‘Nature/Us’, group exhibition, Gallery One11, Cape Town.
• ‘Block Art’, group exhibition, The Studio Art Gallery, Simon’s Town.
• ‘Otherwise Healthy’, group exhibition, Gallery One11, Cape Town.
• Turbine Art Fair, Spier Arts Trust, Rosebank, Johannesburg.
• ‘Tricolore’, group exhibition, The Gallery at Grande Provence, Franschhoek.
• ‘Tiny Treasures’, Art.B Gallery, Cape Town.
• ‘Zoom In’, group exhibition, The Studio Art Gallery, Simon’s Town.
• ‘Meraki’, group exhibition, DAOR Contemporary, Cape Town.
• ‘Life We Get The Picture’, NCE/Nando’s Creative Exchange 2021, GFI Gallery, Gqeberha
2021
• ‘Open Studio’s Kommetjie’, solo studio exhibition, Kommetjie, Cape Town.
• NCX Basha Uhuru Freedom Festival at Constitution Hill, Johannesburg.
• ‘Life We Get The Picture’, NCE/Nando’s Creative Exchange 2021, AVA Gallery, Cape Town.
2020
• ‘Open Studio’s Kommetjie’, solo studio exhibition, Kommetjie, Cape Town.
• ‘SHE’, group exhibition, RK Contemporary, Riebeek Kasteel, Western Cape.
• ‘Drawn In’, group exhibition, RK Contemporary, Riebeek Kasteel, Western Cape.
2018
• ‘Nelson Mandela. 100 Years Tribute Exhibition’, The Studio Gallery. Simon’s Town.
• ‘Tiny Treasures’, Art.B Gallery, Cape Town.
• ‘Beyond The Crisis’ #cocreatedesignfestival 2018, an initiative of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands in collaboration with The Craft and Design Institute and Future Cape Town and
proud partner of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
StateoftheArt Gallery, Cape Town.
• KENNIS exhibition at the annual Wordfees Festival, Stellenbosch.
• The Spiritual Grunge, Alex Hamilton Art Studio, Cape Town.
2017
• ‘Painterly’, group exhibition, The Gallery at Grande Provence, Franschhoek.
• ‘Ars Gratis Artis’, group exhibition, The Gallery at Grande Provence, Franschhoek.
• ‘Vice Versa’, group exhibition, Art.B Gallery, Cape Town.
2016
• That Art Fair, represented by DF Contemporary, Cape Town.
2015
• ‘Signature’, group exhibition, The Gallery at Grande Provence, Franschhoek.
2014
• ‘Skulduggery’, group exhibition, The Studio, Kalk Bay.
• ‘Face to Figure’, group exhibition, The Studio, Kalk Bay.
Galleries
My work has been exhibited in these fine art galleries:
• DAOR Contemporary, Cape Town.
• Ink Box Art, Kalk Bay, Cape Town.
• The Gallery at Grande Provence, Franschhoek, South Africa.
• State Of The Art Gallery, Cape Town.
• Gallery One11, Cape Town.
• GFI Gallery, Gqeberha.
• RK Contemporary, Riebeek Kasteel, Western Cape.
• Art.B Gallery, the Arts Association of Bellville, Cape Town.
• The Studio, Dido Valley, Cape Town.
• Chameleon Gallery, Kalk Bay, Cape Town.
• Kynsna Fine Art, Kynsna, South Africa.
• DF Contemporary, Woodstock, Cape Town, South Africa.
Phone:
+27 083 775 5454
Email:
adrianartist@gmail.com
Instagram:
instagram.com/adrianowen_artist/
facebook.com/AdrianOwenArtist/
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