Denise Owen

ARTIST”S BIO
Denise Owen is a contemporary visual artist who lives and works in Oakland, CA. Born in Johnstown, PA, she earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Architecture, was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Ivory Coast, and is Professor Emeritus of Art and Interior Design at Ohlone College in Fremont, CA. She discovered her love of drawing while apprenticing in architecture, and has continued to create works on paper for over 35 years.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I make art to celebrate the splendor I find around me, hoping to inspire others to delight in the richness that surrounds us. Much of my work is intuitive. Initial marks evoke a reaction, which invites a response, eventually moving the work to resolution as its story emerges. Everything is abstracted. The play of pattern takes precedence over depiction.
I’ll use any media I can put on paper. I like the feel of the materials and the immediacy and intimacy of working with my hands. I especially enjoy mono-printing for the element of surprise and spontaneity inherent in the process. I work in series to allow images to inform others. Most recently I’ve been re-working earlier pieces, re-drawing drawings as mono-prints or using other prints and drawings as a base for collage. As I play with the patterns I discover new characters and stories waiting to emerge from their hiding places among the lines and shapes of the old pieces. Life reinvented.