EXPLORATION IN FORM
FINDING FAMILIAR COMFORTS THROUGH ABSTRACTION
Situated in the fascinating space between representation and abstraction, Doug Owen’s graceful sculptures offer up a wealth of associations. The horse, his perennial subject, has of course been a favorite of artists for centuries; aside from humans themselves, perhaps no other creature has been portrayed in art so frequently. Depictions of horses did not vanish with the advent of modernism: they figure prominently in the works of Picasso, who was captivated by the prehistoric horse drawings on the walls of the Lascaux caves.
In his single-minded devotion to the equine form, Owen joins the ranks of such renowned artists as Frederic Remington and Susan Rothenberg, for whom horses retain a primal, almost mythical power. Like them, he also makes his home in the Western U.S., where horses further connote the complex history of the American frontier.
Owen’s sculptures are striking for their sinewy, Picassoesque lines (the artist originally studied gesture drawing), but their colors are equally arresting. Bottle greens, goldenrod yellows, coppery browns, tans, ochres, and blues: these are colors most often associated with landscape painting. Indeed, like the earthy sculpture of Tony Cragg, Owen’s horses seem perfectly at home in their settings. Grazing, lounging, or surveying their realm, it’s as if they’ve assembled themselves almost magically out of the surrounding environment.
With a culmination of over 40 years of artistic exploration, Owen has garnered an international following.
Today, Owen enjoys the creative process by working closely with his sons Matthew and Benjamin. Owen Art, founded in 2022, continues this long heritage of artistic expression.