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Obituary Denis Bowen For over 50 years Denis Bowen was a leading proponent of informal abstract painting in Britain. His painting adhered to the existential freedom and automatic procedures of "Tachism" and "Gesturalism". In later years he marshalled the energetic blobs, splashes and dribbles of poured or sprayed paint towards a cosmological symbolism expressive of phenomena like eclipses, supernovae, galactic explosions or volcanic eruptions - themes that bridged the gap between art and science, and expressed his interest in the revelations and discoveries of the Space Age. Bowen was born the son of a Welsh farmer in Kimberley, South Africa, in 1921. Orphaned at an early age, Bowen returned to England with his brother and two sisters in the mid 1920s. He grew up with relations first in Manchester, then with an aunt in Huddersfield. Showing precocious artistic talent, Bowen entered Huddersfield Art School in 1936, where his tutor, the Royal College-trained painter Reginald Napier, directed him towards the RCA in London. The Second World War put Bowen's art education on hold; but after serving in the Navy, with which he travelled on Atlantic convoys and on trips to the Far East, he entered the RCA in 1946. Despite his encountering tutors like Carel Weight, Robert Buhler and John Minton, who were figurative painters, Bowen's tendency was to experiment with the pure processes of painting. His awareness of paint as a deliciously tactile, fluid substance capable of a range of expression beyond the merely descriptive ensured his involvement with the burgeoning avant-garde of the early 1950s. However, Bowen's awareness of nature - particularly the spectacular light effects of skies at dusk - also brought a romanticism to his work. The wartime experience of the dark, fathomless waters of Portsmouth harbour at night seen from the deck of his frigate imprinted itself on his imagination - the ambiguous spatial continuum between sea and sky pierced by broad searchlight beams. Many of Bowen's drawings and paintings of the early 1950s used this source both as theme and iconographic device. Bowen's teaching career began in the Interior Design department at Kingston School of Art. He also had stints at Hammersmith, Ealing, the RCA, the Central School and later at the University of Victoria on Vancouver Island. Like many painters Bowen often taught in an adjacent department to painting, in his case that of Industrial Design; this led to his later use of metallic car sprays and fluorescent paints. His style matured neither in an ivory tower nor in a cultural vacuum. He read enthusiastically about contemporary French painting in the periodicals Art d'Aujourd'hui and Cimaise. His artistic pantheon was not distant or academic, for in London this ubiquitous and lifelong gallery-goer met heroes like Giacometti, Pierre Soulages or Georges Mathieu, artists that, through their process-led aesthetics, consolidated Bowen's own belief in "pure painting". Bowen was a "gallery man" par excellence. His personal charm, articulate mind and generosity of spirit made him an ideal ambassador for young artists and for the avant-garde cause. Between 1956 and 1966 he directed the New Vision Centre Gallery downstairs in the building near Marble Arch where he would live for the rest of his life. Co-founded with the painters Halima Nalecz and Frank Avray Wilson, the NVCG aimed to provide a broad and democratic voice, something that the seemingly élitist Institute of Contemporary Art sometimes failed to do. Many artists had early exhibitions at the New Vision; Peter Blake and the comedian Charlie Drake enjoyed solo shows there. A committed internationalist, Bowen gave exhibitions to notable continentals including Piero Manzoni, the Dutch "Zero Group" and Yves Klein's mother, Marie Raymond. The American painter Robert Goodnough also exhibited. Though more European in feel, Bowen's work also related to the direct "action" painting of New York "abstract expressionism" and Bowen met Theodoros Stamos, Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman in London, the British painter taking Newman to see Brunel's Paddington Station. The New Vision was seen in some quarters as an irritant, challenging the West End gallery status quo that wished to specialise in a coterie of St Ives or London abstract artists. Bowen's own exhibiting career during the 1950s, however, extended beyond the underground walls of the NVCG or those of the coffee houses, for he enjoyed many prestigious solo or group shows in leading galleries in London, Paris and beyond. In 1957 he contributed to the Redfern Gallery's landmark "Metavisual, Tachiste, Abstract", an exhibition that put Bowen's painterly abstraction in context - among the other exhibitors were Roger Hilton, Patrick Heron, Sandra Blow, Adrian Heath and Gillian Ayres. The same year he contributed his aptly named picture Automatic Image to the first John Moores biennial exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. Bowen's urge to experiment saw his work take a different tack during the 1960s. While key paintings like Instant Moons (1962), Colonel Glenn (1962) or Venusian (1963) used the explosive language of thrown paint to express a fascination with rockets and manned space travel, the colour remained dark and sombre. By the late 1960s, however - and in line with his emotive poetic and astronomical titles - he formalised the recurring planet-like discs, surrounding them with bright, sometimes even fluorescent coronas and, in the case of Ruby Planet (1969), emulating the crackled surface effects of fired ceramics through a maverick use of unstable media like acrylic on top of oil paints. The introduction of fluorescent colours struck unearthly, luminous effects in the 1970s. The suspicion remained, however, that Bowen was a tonal painter rather than colourist and even spectacular later paintings like Red Barrier (1987), Prismatic Planet (1988) or Magma (1988) used jet blacks alleviated by gold and silver metallic sprays. As a member of AICA (the international art critics group), Bowen travelled widely in later years, painting, teaching and exhibiting regularly in the Balkans. His popularity on the London art circuit was matched by manifold connections abroad. But he strongly associated with his Celtic roots, joining the Celtic Vision Group, initiated by the painters Derek Culley and John Bellany. A book and retrospective at the Belgrave Gallery, London in 2001, together with the belated acquisition of work by the Tate Gallery, finally celebrated his broad, but underrated, contribution to post-war abstract art in Britain. Peter Davies
Denis Bowen Born in Kimberley, South Africa, of Welsh and English parents, orphaned young and raised in Huddersfield by his aunt, Denis studied at Huddersfield School of Art, served as a chief naval radar operator during the second world war and later attended the Royal College of Art. From the late 1940s until 1986, he taught at Kingston Institute of Art, Hammersmith School of Arts, Birmingham School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design and the Royal College, among other institutions. Hugely energetic, he usually taught full time while producing an impressive number of works on paper, canvas and other media, curating exhibitions and communicating with overseas artists. His output falls into three broad periods. As a pioneer of tachism (from the early 1950s to the mid-60s), he used vigorous blocks of paint and free-form brush strokes. Influenced by artists from the European informal movement, such as Michaux, Fautrier, Fontana and Burri, his materials and gestural marks acquired symbolic and emotional values. The so-called "psychedelic" works (1969-80) evolved while he was associate professor at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Island (1969-72). Accompanied by rock music by the likes of the Rolling Stones and Jimmy Hendrix, they were fully visible only under ultra-violet lighting. Later "black light" shows involved collaborations with contemporary musicians, dancers and performance directors. Bringing together image, music and movement recalled the Italian futurists, who Denis considered underrated compared to the French cubists, even if their political ideology was very different from his own. Most recent are his "planetary" works, from the 1980s onwards, in which Turneresque swirls of intense pigment and discs of delicate colour call to mind solar landscapes and eclipses. Always inventive and independent, Denis's work centred on the multiplicity of visual language as he imaginatively explored inner and cosmic space - a reflection of his lifelong obsession with space discovery. He constantly experimented with new and apparently mut-ually exclusive materials in his efforts to combine light, movement and space on the canvas, working in what he called a state of "hyperconsciousness". His work was exhibited around the world and purchased by many important collections, including Tate Britain, the national galleries of Israel and Italy, and others in Australia and Poland. An equal legacy was his promotion of abstract art and international exchanges of ideas. It is difficult to appreciate how alienating non-figurative art was deemed to be in Britain during the postwar decades. It was generally either ignored by critics or received with hostility. Even now, British art history underplays the role of abstraction during the 1950s and 60s. Although their role is often overlooked, Denis and his colleagues at the NVGG made essential contributions to shaping postwar modern British art and enabling the emergence of significant trends. New Vision grew out of meetings, discussions and displays of work that Denis initiated with his students in 1951. In 1955 a permanent exhibition space was opened by Denis, Frank Avray-Wilson, Halima Nalacz and, later, Ken Coutts-Smith at 4 Seymour Place, Marble Arch, where it remained until 1966. Denis was not the only founder or director, but he was the only one to remain fully involved for the life of the gallery. In that decade, more than 220 artists had more than 250 exhibitions, many as one-person shows. Denis was among the first to embrace internationality in the arts. Exhibitors came from 29 countries, including Pakistan, New Zealand, Italy, Sri Lanka, France, Holland and Israel. The Guyan- ese painter, Aubrey Williams, exhibited, as did Manuel Fernandez (from Goa), Judy Kassab and Ron Russell (Australia), Bill Newcombe (Canada) and Rotraut (Germany). New Vision remains one of the few galleries to have exhibited black and Asian painters, sculptors and photographers with the same ease and enthusiasm as it offered white or British artists. It was also one of the focal points of the European (as opposed to British) avant garde, hosting the first exhibition of the Italian group Forma-1 and showing the German Group Zero. Proud of his Celtic origins, Denis founded the Celtic Vision group in 1985 with painters John Bellamy and Derek Culley. Recently, he developed close and affectionate links with Macedonian artists, also part of the Celtic community, and was honoured with the freedom of the city of Skopje. He was immensely observant. His flat was an installation of visual puns, ephemera, artefacts, masks, embroideries, books, painting and objets trouvés. Few who visited in the early years will forget the door covered with a life-size poster of Brigitte Bardot, itself swathed in a veil and later replaced with a collage of eyes, or the constructions in sardine cans pinned to the kitchen wall. As a friend, he accepted people with their flaws, and was shrewd and pragmatic towards them. He invited Ron Russell, and later Pindaros Michaeledes, to share the cost of his Diorama studio, giving both painters a central London base. In his long association with the Diorama studios in Regent's Park, he organised exhibitions, including Cosmopolis (Bowen, Spallone, Michaeledes, Court) and persuaded artists to donate work to a permanent Diorama collection. Denis was endlessly interested in ideas about art, history, anthropology, science and anything else that caught his attention. There was very little about which he did not have a singular opinion. Charming and charismatic, he had virtually no small talk. Until a few weeks ago, he was eagerly discussing his forthcoming retrospective, curated by his friend, the Italian critic Stella Santacatterina, at the Rome Museum of Modern Art. He was married and divorced twice, and is survived by his daughter Amanda. · Denis Arthur Bowen, artist, born April 5 1921; died March 23 2006 |
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