DAVE BOWERS
Dave Bowers was born in Geelong (Victoria, Australia) in 1964. He studied illustration and life drawing at Monash University, Caulfield, and graduated with a degree in Graphic Design in 1986. From this point on Bowers headed steadily towards a fine art career.
Bowers created art/street label Umgawa with partner Nick Morris in 1992 and his quirky, bold, colourful style quickly caught the eye of Mambo head, Dare Jennings. After selling Umgawa, he became a Mambo regular and thrived in the Mambo environment of wild colour and irreverence.
Growing up in the Outer western suburbs of Melbourne, a combination of rural, industrial and working class suburban, has heavily influenced Bowers works. He ranges freely across media and themes, skipping playfully from rural behemoths – majestic bulls and semi-trailers – to Melbourne streetscapes in close-up, to pop icons and the unexpected poetry of spam. Bowers refuses to be defined by a single style: his gleaning of materials, words and colours from his immediate world leads him down many stylistic paths.
Bowers works with acrylics, enamels and oil sticks. He also uses found objects, signage and collage, including cardboard boxes salvaged from Asian supermarkets, with their striking commercial symbols and bold exotic scripts. Another source of inspiration and materials is street combing, picking through the detritus left by the passing, multicultural human tides of his home suburbs in Melbourne’s inner west. Bowers has had sell out shows in Melbourne, Sydney and France and has been snapped up bycollectors all over Asia, America and Europe. He was a finalist in the 2010 Moran portraiture prize with his collaborative portrait of elusive Victorian artist Doug Bartlett.
Solo Exhibitions
2012 THE GRIND Harrison Gallery Sydney
2012 HEARTBREAKERS Yering Station Gallery
2011 PETIT TRAVAUX Retrospect gallery Gold Coast QLD
2011 MAN MADE Salt Gallery Queenscliff Vic
2011 SHARPEN YOUR BRAIN Linton & Kay Contemporary Perth
2011 DOUBLE EXTRA SUPER Retrospect gallery Gold Coast QLD
2010 SWING LOW Mario’s Cafe Melbourne.
2010 PERSONALITY INSTANTLY SPACEJUNK France
2010 HIGH POP LOW BROW Salt Gallery Queenscliff Vic
2010 AAF NYC New York
2010 MORAN PRIZE SHOW Sydney
2010 HARRISON GALLERY Sydney
2010 UFO GALLERY Hong Kong
2009 EXTRA SAUCE Mario’s Cafe Melbourne
2009 GLOBAL BOOM Retrospect gallery Byron Bay NSW
2009 FREE RADICALS Greenwood Gallery Melbourne
2009 BULLET PROOF Harrison Gallery Sydney
2009 COOPER GALLERY Noosa Heads
2008 NEW IMPLOSION Mario’s Cafe Melbourne
2008 SPRING ST GALLERY Sydney
2008 YERING STATION Victoria
2008 HARRISON GALLERY Sydney
2008 GREENWOOD GALLERY Lorne
2008 GAFFER GALLERY Hong Kong
2008 SPACEJUNK GALLERY France
2007 TIGER FISH GALLERY Torquay
2007 HO GALLERY Melbourne
2007 FRESH GALLERY Melbourne
2007 100% GOOD ENOUGH Mario’s Cafe Melbourne
group Exhibitions
2006 CHINA HEIGHTS, Sydney
2006 THE BAKERY, Perth
2006 REVOLVER, Melbourne
2006 WHITEWASH GROUP SHOW Torquay
2006 MAMBO SHOW Mario’s Café Melbourne
2005 MAMBO SHOW Mario’s Café Melbourne
Awards
2010 DOUG MORAN finalist
Media/Publications
2009 Q MAGAZINE. Issue 56
2009 SURFERS JOURNAL France
2008 SPACEJUNK MAGAZINE France
2008 NEWS HOUR. ABC Aust, Asia, India and Pacific
2008 JET STAR in flight Magazine
2008 AG ideas Book Melbourne
2008 OYSTER MAGAZINE Sydney Issue 75
2008 THE RED FLAG / USELESS MAGAZINE German
2007 WATIM On line Issue 12
2007 SPACEJUNK MAGAZINE France
2007 KINGBROWN MAGAZINE Perth.Issue 2
2006 DESKTOP MAGAZINE.Melbourne Issue 223 Cover
2006 EMPTY MAGAZINE. Sydney Issue 8
2006 SEMI-PERMANENT BOOK Sydney
2005 SEMI-PERMANENT BOOK Sydney
2005 MAVIOLOGY MAGAZINE Istanbul
2005 SEMI-PERMANENT BOOK New York
Road Repair Montage
Green Tractor
Hydra
Bull Montage
Big Wet
Cheap Angle Grinder
